
After yesterday’s meeting with Parkland students and families and last night’s CNN town hall on how to respond to gun violence, President Donald Trump has laid out a possible legislative agenda on Twitter regarding gun control measures.
I will be strongly pushing Comprehensive Background Checks with an emphasis on Mental Health. Raise age to 21 and end sale of Bump Stocks! Congress is in a mood to finally do something on this issue – I hope!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 22, 2018
The emphasis on mental health appears to be a nod toward the Gun Violence Restraining Order idea being pushed by Marco Rubio, National Review, and other places on the right.
Rubio, who was jeered several times last night but stood his ground, also acknowledged that 18 years old is still too young to purchase a gun.
The issue of bump stocks has been on the table since the massacre in Las Vegas, in which the gun modification was a central feature of the assault.
Overall, Trump’s plan seems to address many of the issues that conservatives have seemed most willing to compromise on, however, there is no talk of an “assault weapons” ban, which liberals and the Parkland students have been calling for.
It is unclear how Congress will proceed on the issue, but the vocal Parkland students have kept talk of stopping gun violence in the news cycle longer than in previous shootings, and Republicans looking at ways to offset losses in 2018 may be looking more openly at the idea of doing something in response to the latest tragedy.
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