Trump calls for strengthening background checks in wake of Fla. shooting

President Trump on Tuesday said lawmakers should turn their focus to strengthening background checks for gun purchases following the deadly mass shooting at a Florida high school last week.

“Whether we are Republican or Democrat, we must now focus on strengthening Background Checks!” Trump tweeted.

Whether we are Republican or Democrat, we must now focus on strengthening Background Checks!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 20, 2018

Trump also posted a tweet slamming CNN and MSNBC for purportedly covering a rally protesting Trump that was organized by Russians posing as Americans.

{mosads}Trump’s remarks come after he announced Tuesday that he had directed the Department of Justice to propose regulations that would ban bump stocks, devices that allow semi-automatic guns to be modified to shoot hundreds of rounds per minute.

“We can do more to protect our children. We must do more to protect our children,” Trump said during the announcement.

It does not appear that a bump stock device was used in the Florida shooting, nor does it appear a prohibition on the devices would have stopped that shooter.

Trump said he expected regulations to ban the devices will be finished “very soon.”

The move comes under increased pressure from Democrats and survivors of the Florida shooting, who have called for stricter gun control legislation after the attack, which killed 17 people.

Survivors of the shooting are planning a march in Washington next month, called the “March for Our Lives,” that will demand children’s “lives and safety become a priority and that we end gun violence and mass shootings in our schools today.”

Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) told The Washington Post on Tuesday he plans to introduce a bill that would expand background checks for people purchasing firearms.