After the mass shooting that took place in Las Vegas in October of 2017, Americans across the nation felt devastated. The shooting of 58 people, all committed by one man, did not seem like something that could be done in the entertainment capital of the world.
As families mourned for their losses and survivors recounted their experiences, frustrations with gun control laws in this country mounted. The Vegas shooting, while tragic and heartbreaking, is not an isolated incident. Last week, on Valentine’s Day, Americans witnessed a number of untimely deaths yet again — this time the loss of 17 students and teachers in Parkland, Florida, as a result of suffering from gunshot injuries.
In recent months, local legislators have started to take action on the issue, with their constituents demanding thorough background checks and pushing for the ban of some lethal weapons. In November, a month after the Vegas shooting, Massachusetts legislators voted to ban the possession of bump stocks — the same deadly attachment the Vegas gunman used on his rifles that resulted in the death of concert-goers and pedestrians from the window of the 32nd floor of a high-rise hotel. Bump stocks are gun attachments that convert semi-automatic rifles to automatic ones, rendering them even more deadly weapons that require less frequent triggering by the shooter. This stock allowed the gunman to shoot rounds faster and ultimately may have been the reason for his ability to murder so many people.
On Tuesday, Trump asked the Justice Department to consider banning bump stocks. This action comes as the first notable action the Trump administration has taken in restricting guns. While it’s noteworthy that the president of a nation which suffers from thousands of gun-related deaths every year, we should remember this is only a recommendation. In order to truly defeat this problem, more action and collaboration between the president and lawmakers needs to take place.
First, while it’s nice to see Trump starting to actually fill in his role as president by directing change and commanding the nation, we should still remain wary. A suggestion to the Justice Department is different than Trump working with members of Congress. As the leader of the Republican party, it is his duty to galvanize support from party leaders and urge those lawmakers to write effective bills. With the Republican party under attack right now, it would be more impactful if Trump turned to his own party members to enact change.
Of course, the Trump administration has a track record of not being proactive with enacting laws that would help the country. While the Parkland shooting occurred last week, the memo to the Justice Department comes as a delayed response to the Vegas shooting that occurred several months ago. Perhaps prodding cabinet members for something like this right after that incident could have elicited a stronger message. At this point, the measure doesn’t really do much in terms of timeliness or effectiveness. He did not tell the department to restrict usage of actual guns — rather, he is calling for the end of an unnecessary addition to an already violent weapon.
In addition, this could have been a more calculated decision on behalf of Trump’s public relations or media team to evade further criticism of the administration. This could be a tactic to tell Parkland grievers to say he did something, even if that something is not actually effective. After the protests in Charlottesville last summer, Trump did not respond timely enough for many Americans whose identities felt attacked and threatened by white nationalists chanting jeers of hatred. Knowing that many Americans were upset by “blame on both sides” comment before condemning the side that included white supremacists, Trump certainly needed to step up this time. But it still doesn’t feel like enough.
If we want to see real change coming from our president, there are more effective ways to do so. Trump could sponsor a bill, which would not only expedite the process of it becoming a law, but also encourage Republican Congressmen to support legislation. Instead of dictating people in cabinet about what he thinks should happen, Trump should display some genuine commitment in order for others to take action. Otherwise, we will continue to see violent deaths resulting from guns and a lack of regulation on them.
