Mr Trump said: “We must move past cliches and tired debates and focus on evidence based solutions and security measures that actually work.”

Bump stocks were used in the Las Vegas massacre, and were attached to six of the long guns found in the shooter’s hotel room. “That process began in December and just a few moments ago I signed a memorandum directing the attorney general to propose regulations to ban all devices that turn legal weapons into machine guns,” Trump said during a ceremony recognising bravery by public safety officers. “We must do more to protect our children.”

The move comes in the wake of the shooting at a Florida high school last week that killed 14 students and three teachers, renewing a national debate over gun control. Bump stocks – which modify semi-automatic firearms to shoot hundreds of rounds per minute – were used by the gunman who rained bullets on a country music festival in Las Vegas last October, leaving 58 dead and more than 500 injured. White House officials say the president will be meeting with students, teachers and state and local officials to discuss ways of providing more school safety and address gun violence. Past efforts to address gun violence in Congress have failed.
U.S. President Donald Trump orders the Department of Justice to prepare regulations to ban devices that allow semi-automatic rifles to become fully automatic, such as the bump stocks used in the 2017 Las Vegas shooting.