CRISIS/GUNS/POLITICS: “The White House said Monday [10-2-17] it was too soon after the Las Vegas shootings to begin a policy debate about whether the nation needs stricter gun laws, in the face of Democratic lawmakers’ calls to revive their longstanding push for greater restrictions.
In televised morning remarks, President Donald Trump called the shootings on the Las Vegas Strip an ‘act of pure evil’ and announced he would visit the city on Wednesday, but avoided any discussion of gun policy. Meeting with Thailand’s prime minister later in the day, he added that ‘it’s a very sad moment for me, for everybody.’…
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders turned aside questions about whether Mr. Trump might respond to the shooting by pushing for tougher gun restrictions. She said the nation needs to grieve and investigators need to finish their work before Washington reopens the debate over gun control.
Asked about whether there could be a bipartisan push on gun violence, Ms. Sanders said: ‘I think one of the things that we don’t want to do is try to create laws that won’t stop these types of things from happening.’..
Mr. Trump ordered that flags fly at half-staff and he took part in a moment of silence on the South Lawn of the White House.”
-Peter Nicholas, “White House Says There Will Be ‘Time and Place’ for Gun Debate,” The Wall Street Journal online, Oct. 2, 2017 05:35pm