Trump says he’s moving ‘very slowly’ on gun control to ‘make sure it’s right’

President Donald Trump shut down speculation that the administration is moving forward on a legislative package related to guns, telling Fox News that his administration is purposefully “moving very slowly” on talks because they “want to make sure it’s right.”

The President was asked by Fox News in an interview that aired Thursday whether he might move on the measures recommended by the Justice Department, which would expand background checks to all advertised commercial sales.

“No, we are not moving on anything,” Trump said. “We are going very slowly in one way because we want to make sure it’s right. We’re doing (a) very careful job.”

The President said his administration was working with Democrats and Republicans to craft the package, but cautioned against the ideas of some Democrats, including presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke, who are suggesting mandatory firearms buybacks.

“A lot of Republicans and some Democrats now are afraid to do anything, to go down that slippery slope,” he said. “A lot of people think this is just a way of taking away guns, and that’s not good — because we’re not going to allow that.”

Trump also asserted that though he doesn’t want “bad people” or “crazy people” to have access to firearms, and that his administration is “going to protect the Second Amendment.”

Trump on Wednesday called the recommendations by the Justice Department “just a series of concepts and ideas.”

“About a week ago we asked (Attorney General William Barr) to get involved and those are ideas that we’re talking to Republicans, Democrats, everybody about. Some they like, some they don’t like. Just a series of concepts and ideas,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.

The President’s comments come as discussions around legislative fixes to mass shootings have heated up following a series of mass shootings in the US. Attorney General Barr returned to Capitol Hill for the second day in a row on Wednesday, meeting with lawmakers about proposed gun bills, including a measure that would expand background checks for buyers.