President Donald Trump on Monday condemned weekend shootings in Texas and Ohio as barbaric crimes “against all humanity” and called for bipartisan cooperation to respond to an epidemic of gun violence.
Trump said he wanted legislation providing “strong background checks” for gun users.
“We vow to act with urgent resolve,” Trump said, speaking from the White House about shootings that left 31 dead as the count rose on Monday. His remarks came after two days of muted response to the shootings, and included a solitary denunciation of white supremacy.
“In one voice, our nation must condemn racism, bigotry and white supremacy,” Trump said, adding that he had directed the FBI to examine steps to identify and address domestic terrorism. “These sinister ideologies must be defeated. Hate has no place in America,” he said.
Trump suggested earlier Monday on Twitter that a background check bill could be paired with his long-sought effort to toughen the nation’s immigration system.
Trump called for law enforcement and social media companies to do more to combat extremism and spot warning signs of violence online.
He also called for a reduction in the “glorification” of violence in American culture, laws to make it easier to commit those with mental illness and “red flag laws” to separate such individuals from firearms.
He directed the Department of Justice to seek and prioritize the enforcement of the death penalty in cases of hate crimes and mass shootings.
In February, the House approved bipartisan legislation to require federal background checks for all gun sales and transfers and legislation to allow a review period of up to 10 days for background checks on firearm purchases.
At a February meeting with survivors and family members of the 2018 Parkland, Florida, school shooting in which 17 people died, Trump promised to be “very strong on background checks.”
Trump claimed he would stand up to the gun lobby and finally get results in quelling gun violence.
With his Monday proposals, Trump is providing a response to the shootings with ideas that many Republicans in Congress can embrace.
The Associated Press contributed to this article