President Trump hasn’t decided whether to support specific gun control legislation as he takes a broader look at reform options in the aftermath of mass murders in Ohio and Texas.
A well-placed source said Trump is studying non-legislative responses to the slaying of 31 people with semiautomatic guns, despite voicing support for broader background checks and temporary gun confiscation orders, which pending legislation would address.
Trump “is continuing to gather information and ideas about what to do and the best way to do it: legislatively, by executive action, engagement with states and localities and communities and the private sector, or a mix,” the source familiar with the White House response said.
Trump has not given staff marching orders on how to proceed with a review of options. It’s unclear if a committee is likely or whether a more streamlined process would involve the White House’s domestic policy and legislative affairs teams.
“As the president reviews ideas, he is being careful not to endorse specific pieces of legislation,” the source added.
Trump mused Monday about “great legislation after all of these years,” but gun-rights advocates, including the National Rifle Association, pushed back on Trump’s initial remarks.
After last year’s mass murder of 17 at a high school in Florida, Trump created a school safety committee that looked at issues of mental health and policy. The panel sapped legislative urgency, and no major reforms passed.
Following the high school killings, Trump said he wanted a higher gun-buying age and temporary seizure of guns without due process. But he ultimately focused heavily on arming teachers. In response to the recent killings, Trump said he supported expanded background checks and temporarily gun seizures, but also said violent video games may be to blame.
Gun Owners of America, a hard-line gun-rights group, is seeking a sponsor for legislation that would allow shooting victims to sue video game makers, offering a potential redirection of Trump’s focus. Still, the president placed several phone calls this week to Sens. Joe Manchin, D-West Virginia, and Patrick Toomey, R-Pennsylvania, who have authored legislation expanding required background checks, with a carveout for family gun transfers.
Manchin told the Washington Post that Trump expressed interest in developing legislation by September.
Another bill vying for Trump’s interest is co-sponsored by Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, and proposes incentives for states to adopt “red flag” laws that allow police to temporarily take guns. Critics of these laws say personal enemies can manipulate authorities to raid homes without a true emergency or an opportunity for the subject of the raid to defend themselves.
Trump already has “had his administration look at issues related to law enforcement, mental health, culture, and policies around guns,” the source familiar with the White House response noted, referring to the study of issues after the Florida high school shooting.
A senior administration official declined to comment on whether another policy review panel was under consideration.
The source familiar with Trump’s response said “we haven’t come to the point of determining the how” of reaching a decision on action. They added, “Panels have been used by presidents of both parties in the past, but the president is a man of action — a verb, not a noun — and is looking for results and accomplishments.”
Trump’s gun control remarks worried some supporters. NRA chief executive Wayne LaPierre urged Trump against backing expanded background checks this week. Critics say many innocent gun trades or sales could become criminal.
Other gun-rights activists noted most recent massacres, including the killings in Ohio and Texas, were committed by people who legally owned semiautomatic weapons and that it’s unlikely guns owned by up to 20 million citizens would be outlawed.
“The kind of thing that would actually stop this would be extremely draconian,” said South Texas College of Law professor Josh Blackman, who has litigated gun rights cases, including to allow distribution of 3-D printable gun plans.
