White House: Day of worst mass shooting not the ‘time and place’ to discuss gun control

WASHINGTON (WPDE) — Asked a question about gun control at a briefing less than 24 hours after the deadliest shooting in U.S. history, an emotional Sarah Huckabee Sanders said it was inappropriate to broach policy debate.

There is a “time and place” for gun control discussion, the White House press secretary said, but it is “not the place we’re in at the moment.”

Pressed about whether a dialogue was timely, Sanders answered that “it would be premature for us to discuss policy” when all the facts of the attack are not yet known.

A gunman labeled by authorities as “a lone wolf” killed at least 58 and injured at least 515 others in an attack at a Las Vegas country music concert.

Authorities say the perpetrator, 64-year-old Stephen Craig Paddock, killed himself in a hotel room after the shooting.

In the wake of the tragedy, President Donald Trump and his administration remain focused on “uniting the country” and mourning the victims, Sanders said.

Trump ordered flags across the country flown at half-staff Monday, and led a moment of silence on the White House lawn.

Trump’s predecessor and former president Barack Obama frequently marked mass shootings with calls for stricter gun contro