WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Monday predicted his administration would ban so-called bump stocks in a matter of weeks.
Speaking on the one-year anniversary of the deadly mass shooting in Las Vegas, Trump told reporters in the Rose Garden that he had already informed the gun lobby. He said the move, which he has previously promised to make, had been hampered by red tape.
Bump stocks make it easier to fire rounds more quickly from a semi-automatic weapon. The gunman in the Las Vegas shooting used the accessory to fire down at concertgoers from the Mandalay Bay hotel, leaving 58 dead and hundreds injured.
“We’re knocking out bump stocks," Trump said during a press conference on Monday. "I’ve told the NRA bump stocks are gone (in) two or three weeks."
Newly disclosed emails from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, show that the federal agency has been under pressure to ban the device quickly while being hemmed in by legal requirements that officials said slowed the process.
Trump noted the anniversary of the shooting, saying during the press conference that he sent his "thoughts and prayers" to victims and their families. He described the shooting as "a horrible, horrible time in the life of our country."
