On Thursday President Trump signaled that his administration is weighing whether to back the bump stock ban currently being supported by numerous Republican members of the House and Senate.
Talk of the ban comes despite the fact that Barack Obama’s ATF approved bump stocks in 2010, labeling them an firearm accessory rather than a firearm conversion apparatus. In other words, a bump stock DOES NOT convert a semiautomatic into an automatic weapon. Rather, it allows the gun’s owner to mimic auto fire for short bursts.
According to the AP, Trump indicates his administration is considering support for the ban. Trump said, “We’ll be looking into that over the next short period of time.”
Trump’s statement came later in the same day that Counselor Kellyanne Conway suggested the White House was open to a “thoughtful conversation” on gun control. Conway’s statement came just days after White House press secretary Sarah Sanders refused to talk gun control, yet did signal such a talk would come in the future. The Washington Post reported that Sanders described Monday as a “day of mourning” rather than a day of policy, but she added, “There will certainly be a time for that policy discussion to take place.”
Eleven Republican politicians are currently open to the idea of gun control for bump stocks. House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) is among those who have most recently voiced openness to the idea, intimating Congress “clearly” has to look into whether gun control is needed for bump stocks.
AWR Hawkins is the Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and host of Bullets with AWR Hawkins, a Breitbart News podcast. He is also the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.