Administration

Trump tells lawmakers he will outlaw bump stocks ‘quickly’

by Jordain Carney

President Trump on Wednesday reiterated that he will sign an executive order to ban bump stocks — devices that allow semi-automatic weapons to fire multiple rounds with one pull of the trigger.

The device was believed to have been used in the Las Vegas shooting in October that left 59 people dead.

“I’m going to write that out, because we can do that with an executive order … we’ll have that done pretty quickly, they’re working on it right now, the lawyers,” Trump said during a White House meeting, interrupting Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) when he began to discuss the gun device. 

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Trump is hosting a meeting with a bipartisan group of lawmakers to discuss next steps after 17 people were killed in a shooting at a high school in Parkland, Fla. Bump stocks weren’t used in the Florida shooting. 
 
Trump’s comments come after he said during a White House event last week that he had urged the Justice Department to come up with regulations on the devices. 

“That process began in December and just a few moments ago I signed a memorandum directing the attorney general to propose regulations to ban all devices that turn legal weapons into machine guns,” Trump said Tuesday.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) put out a notice of proposed rulemaking in December announcing its plan to interpret the statutory definition of machine gun in the National Firearms Act of 1934 and Gun Control Act of 1968 to clarify whether bump stocks fall within that definition.

But it has been unclear whether the ATF actually has the authority to ban bump stocks. Some have argued that legislation would be required to outlaw the devices. 

Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Tuesday said Justice Department lawyers believe they do have the authority to ban the devices through regulations. 

Administration