Trump vows tougher background checks, mental health screens for gun buyers in meeting with students
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President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he signed a memorandum directing Attorney General Jeff Sessions to propose regulations that would ban some gun accessories, including so-called “bump stocks.”
Time
WASHINGTON — President Trump promised tougher background checks and mental health screens for gun buyers as he met with students, parents and teachers at the White House Wednesday to discuss ways to prevent massacres like the one at a Florida high school last week.
“It’s not going to be talk like it has been in the past,” Trump said.Â
The meeting, billed as a “listening session,” was not expected to produce any immediate policies or regulations but rather lay the groundwork for possible changes in the future.Â
Among those attending: Six students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., where a former student with a history of mental illness used an assault weapon to kill 17 people and wound another 15 a week ago. They were accompanied by their parents, as well as students and parents from three Washington, D.C.-area schools.
“Tell us your stories. America is looking on,” Vice President Pence told them. “We want to hear your hearts today. I encourage you to be candid and be vulnerable.”
The president is scheduled to meet with state and local officials on school safety ​​at the White House Thursday — and with governors on Friday — as part of an ongoing dialogue following the tragedy in Parkland.Â
As Trump meets with advocates in the State Dining Room, students from Parkland and other activists descended on the Florida state capital in Tallahassee to press their case for tighter gun control measures, including a a ban on many semiautomatic rifles and large-capacity ammunition magazines.
In addition, protesters from the Washington, D.C. area, gathered outside the White House Wednesday afternoon to call for more gun restrictions and chanting slogans such as, “What do we want? Gun control! When do we want it? Now!†and “Hey hey! Ho ho! The NRA has got to go!â€Â
Trump’s meeting Wednesday came a day after he announced the signing of a memorandum instructing Attorney General Jeff Sessions to regulate the use of bump stocks, effectively banning the use of the devices that can enable rifles to mimic automatic weapons.
Bump stocks were found among the weapons used in the Las Vegas shooting that killed 58 people Oct. 1, but were not used by Nikolas Cruz, the shooter who used an AR-15 style assault rifle as he gunned down teachers and students.
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“We’re going to be very strong on background checks,” Trump told the students and parents Wednesday, saying he’s open to ideas about how to prevent mass shootings. “It’s not going to be talk like it has been in the past. It’s been going on too long. Too many instances, and were going to get it done.”
Those actions may test Trump’s close relationship with the National Rifle Association, which took the rare step of endorsing him for president in 2016 before he had officially captured the GOP nomination for president.
“The eight-year assault on your Second Amendment freedoms has come to a crashing end,” Trump told the annual National Rifle Association convention in May. “You have a true friend and champion in the White House.”
Now, Trump is suggesting he’s open to several modest steps that can be taken which could draw support from both sides.Â
One idea that’s gained bipartisan approval is a proposal to raise the minimum age required to buy a semi-automatic rifle like the one Cruz, 19, was able to purchase legally last year at a Broward County gun shop.
Gun control groups have blasted Trump and the GOP-led Congress for doing little to address gun violence.
Since Jan. 1, firearms have been used to kill 2,073 people in the U.S. and wound 3,551, according to the Gun Violence Archive, a non-profit organization that tracks incidents of gun violence from media, law enforcement, government and commercial sources.
Gun rights advocates argue that the massacre should never have happened if law enforcement officials had simply done their job and investigated numerous leads suggesting Cruz had mental illness issues.
As recently as January, the FBI received a tip about Cruz and his “desire to kill people,” but the information was never forwarded for investigation, the bureau confirmed Friday.
In a written statement, the FBI said a person close to Cruz contacted the agency’s tip line Jan. 5 to report concerns about “Cruz’s gun ownership, desire to kill people, erratic behavior, and disturbing social media posts, as well as the potential of him conducting a school shooting.” The informant was not identified in the FBI’s statement.Â
“Under established protocols, the information provided by the caller should have been assessed as a potential threat to life,” the FBI said.
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