Oliver Contreras/SIPA USA via AP
President Trump is finally talking about gun control three days after a mass shooting that left 17 people dead and injured at least 14 others at a high school in Parkland, Florida. The president was silent about the issue in a speech at the White House on Thursday, where he offered condolences to the families of the students and teachers murdered and said he would meet with lawmakers and others to discuss school safety. He also visited victims and their families in Broward County on Friday.
On Saturday evening, Trump tweeted:
Just like they don’t want to solve the DACA problem, why didn’t the Democrats pass gun control legislation when they had both the House & Senate during the Obama Administration. Because they didn’t want to, and now they just talk!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 17, 2018
In terms of partisan politics, tighter gun regulations have long been much more favored by Democrats than Republicans, but two gun control measures failed to pass in the Senate in 2013, when Democrats held the majority. Last year, Trump revoked an Obama-era regulation that made it harder for people with mental illnesses to purchase guns.
In the wake of the mass shooting this week, outraged students in Florida and elsewhere have demanded that politicians take action on gun control.