--- title: The Trump Administration Will Look Into Banning Bump Stocks description: President Trump directed Attorney General Jeff Sessions to craft regulations banning bump stocks "very soon." canonical: https://time.com/5167354/white-house-gun-control-trump-florida/ author: Tessa Berenson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-02-20T21:42:16.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-12T08:59:31.547Z article:section: Politics og:title: The Trump Administration Will Look Into Banning Bump Stocks og:description: The White House says it's keeping its options open. og:url: https://time.com/5167354/white-house-gun-control-trump-florida/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt644136843205d907/6989283722fb852ec0e24ce6/gettyimages-918654928.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: President Trump addresses the nation after the mass shootin in Florida og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Trump Administration Will Look Into Banning Bump Stocks twitter:description: The White House says it's keeping its options open. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt644136843205d907/6989283722fb852ec0e24ce6/gettyimages-918654928.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Trump Administration Will Look Into Banning Bump Stocks > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=6bb348bb-bee4-4583-9bf9-af79cc443d3d&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: The White House on Gun Control After the Florida Shooting [Watch (HLS stream): The White House on Gun Control After the Florida Shooting](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/vs5wFWe1.m3u8) (2:09)  _Published 2018-02-20. Sarah Huckabee Sanders delivers a statement after the shooting in Parkland, Florida._  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Feb 20, 2018 9:42 PM UTC  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Feb 20, 2018 9:42 PM UTC President Trump directed Attorney General Jeff Sessions to craft regulations banning bump stocks “very soon,” while the White House says it is keeping all options open on gun control. In the first daily briefing since a [Florida school shooting](http://time.com/5158678/what-to-know-about-the-active-shooter-situation-at-florida-high-school/) left [17 people](http://time.com/5160564/florida-high-school-shooting-victims-names/) dead, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said that the Trump Administration has not put together a concrete plan. “Unfortunately, when horrific tragedies like this happen, everybody wants a quick and a simple answer,” she said Tuesday afternoon. “But there isn’t one.” Still, Sanders did offer a few policy and regulation areas that President Trump will look at in the coming weeks to try to untangle the problem of [mass shootings](http://time.com/4965022/deadliest-mass-shooting-us-history/) in America. ## Bump stocks “I can tell you that the president supports not having the use of bump stocks and that we expect further action on that in the coming days,” Sanders said Tuesday. The national spotlight turned to [bump stocks](http://time.com/4970720/bump-stocks-ban-how-work/)—accessories that increase the rate of fire on semi-automatic weapons— in the wake of last fall’s [Las Vegas shooting](http://time.com/4964666/mandalay-bay-las-vegas-shooting/) that took the lives of more than 50 people. Sanders said Trump a Justice Department and ATF review the regulation of bump stocks has been completed since then, and she expects “movement will take place on that shortly.” “Today, I am directing the Department of Justice to dedicate all available resources to complete the review of the comments received, and, as expeditiously as possible, to propose for notice and comment a rule banning all devices that turn legal weapons into machine-guns,” Trump said in a memo. ## Background checks When asked about an assault weapons ban, Sanders said “we haven’t closed the door on any front,” but then said, “Specifically, I know that background checks are something that the president is supportive of making more efficient and looking at better ways to improve that process.” ## Mental health Since the shooting, Trump has spoken more about [mental illness as a cause](http://time.com/5162927/mass-shootings-mental-health-apa/) of these events [than gun laws](http://time.com/5162178/donald-trump-florida-shooting-mental-health/). Sanders said Tuesday that the president is “very focused” on the issue, and that the White House is “working hand in hand with both the federal government as well as state and local law enforcement officials on what we legally can do” to address mental health and gun ownership. ## Listening sessions Trump is scheduled to hold a listening session on Wednesday with parents, teachers and students who experienced the Parkland shooting or live nearby. “This is a listening session to see what could be done better, what the actual concerns of the students are, what they would like to see,” said Sanders. “One of the things the president wants to do is make sure that he sits down with a number of people from across all fronts.” ## Transcript Last week, while many around the country celebrated Valentine's Day, a deranged killer murdered 17 people and injured at least 15 more at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. As you all saw, the President visited the hospital and Sheriff's Department in Broward County last week. He and the First Lady spent time with some of the victims who are recovering, thanked the doctors for their work, and praised the bravery of law enforcement and first responders Here at the White House the victims and families have constantly been in our thoughts and prayers. We've prayed for the recovery of those injured and for peace and comfort for the families of those who are lost. Our broken hearts are filled with gratitude as we heard the stories of incredible heroism. 15 year old Anthony Borges was shot five times while he used his body as a human shield for his classmates. He remains in the hospital in recovery. Anthony, thank you for your courage. We are all rooting for you. Assistant football coach Aaron Feis shielded students from a hail of gunfire, selflessly giving his own life to save others. Teacher Scott Beigel was barricaded in his classroom but chose to open his door to let students run in to safety. That decision cost Scott his life but saved the lives of so many others. Numerous other teachers sheltered students in their classrooms. Tomorrow we will be hosting parents, teachers, and students here at the White House to discuss efforts to ensure safety at our schools. Members of the Parkland community will be attending this listening session as will individuals who were impacted by past school shootings including the Columbine and Sandy Hook tragedies. On Thursday, we will be hosting local officials including members of the law enforcement community to continue that conversation. As the President has said many times, it is the right of every American child to grow up in a safe community. That begins in America's neighborhoods, where the brave men and women of law enforcement have the President's full support and it extends to our schools where teachers across our nation invest their lives in their students. No parent should ever have to wonder if their child will return home from school at the end of the day. The president has expressed his support for efforts to improve the Federal background check system. And in the coming days we will continue to explore ways to ensure the safety and security of our schools. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5167354/white-house-gun-control-trump-florida/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5167354/white-house-gun-control-trump-florida/"},"headline":"The Trump Administration Will Look Into Banning Bump Stocks","datePublished":"2018-02-20T21:42:16.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-12T08:59:31.547Z","description":"President Trump directed Attorney General Jeff Sessions to craft regulations banning bump stocks \"very soon.\"","url":"https://time.com/5167354/white-house-gun-control-trump-florida/","keywords":["White House","Florida","Guns","Donald Trump","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt644136843205d907/6989283722fb852ec0e24ce6/gettyimages-918654928.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tessa Berenson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt644136843205d907/6989283722fb852ec0e24ce6/gettyimages-918654928.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"President Trump addresses the nation after the mass shootin in Florida","caption":"President Trump addresses the nation after the mass shootin in Florida","creditText":"Samuel Corum/Anadolu Agency—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/white-house/","name":"White House"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5167354/white-house-gun-control-trump-florida/","name":"The Trump Administration Will Look Into Banning Bump Stocks"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"The White House on Gun Control After the Florida Shooting","description":"Sarah Huckabee Sanders delivers a statement after the shooting in Parkland, Florida.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/vs5wFWe1/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2018-02-20T21:42:46.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/vs5wFWe1.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/5167354/white-house-gun-control-trump-florida/","duration":"PT2M9S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/5167354/white-house-gun-control-trump-florida/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```