By Todd Beamon From Newsmax

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he has directed Attorney General Jeff Sessions to propose rules that would ban bump stocks, saying that “I expect that these critical regulations will be finalized very soon.”

“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 in a ceremony in the East Room of the White House honoring recipients of the Presidential Medal of Valor.

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

And late Tuesday night, he appeared to be moving in the direction on increased background checks.

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

Bump stocks came to the forefront of the gun control debate after the deadly mass shooting at a Las Vegas music festival in October that left nearly 60 dead and more than 500 injured. The gunman in that incident used a bump stock device.

Shooting survivors and other young people are pressing for more gun control in a rising chorus of grief and activism. Their “March for Our Lives” is planned March 24 in Washington.

“The key in all of these efforts, as I said in my remarks the day after the shooting, is that we cannot merely take actions that make us feel like we are making a difference,” Trump said.

“We must actually make a difference.

“We must move past cliches and tired debates and focus on solutions and security measures that actually work and that make it easier for men and women of law enforcement to protect our children and to protect our safety.”

The Las Vegas shooter, Stephen Paddock, 64, of Mesquite, Nevada, used bump stocks on the guns that he used to fire more than 1,100 rounds from his suite on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay hotel into the crowd attending the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival.

About an hour after he fired his last shot into the crowd, Paddock was found dead in his room from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Within days of the attack, the National Rifle Association said that such devices “should be subject to additional regulation.”

“In the aftermath of the evil and senseless attack in Las Vegas, the American people are looking for answers as to how future tragedies can be prevented,” the NRA said in statement.

House Speaker Paul Ryan also called for Congress to look into regulating bump stocks — a day after cautioning against quick action after the Las Vegas massacre.

Trump then focused his comments on last week’s deadly shooting in Parkland, Florida, in which Nikolas Cruz, 19, allegedly killed 17 people and injured 14 others when he opened fire at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

Cruz, who had been expelled from the school, is accused of using an AR-15 assault rifle that he had legally purchased last year in the attack.

He is charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder.

“In the aftermath of this evil massacre, our spirits have been lifted by the accounts of bravery at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School,” the president said.

“Coaches, teachers, students, law enforcement officers and others have shown us that the forces of love and courage are always stronger than the forces of evil and hate.

“We were greatly moved by their strength, their resilience — and we are heart-broken for the families whose loved ones were so cruelly torn from them forever,” Trump said. “Forever and ever.

“We cannot imagine the depths of their anguish, but we can pledge the strength of our resolve.

“And we must do more to protect our children. We have to do more to protect our children.”

Trump said that he will be meeting with students, law enforcement and state officials over the next week “to develop concrete steps that we can take to secure our schools, safeguard our students, and protect our communities.

“School safety is a top priority for my administration.”

Governors also will be coming to the White House to discuss “at great length what the federal and state governments can do to keep our students safe,” the president said.

Topics include “implementing common-sense security measures and addressing mental-health issues — including better coordination between federal and state law enforcement — to take swift action when there are warning signs.”

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