While asking governors to work with him on new school safety measures, President Trump has attacked officers for not entering a Florida high school building and engaging a gunman who killed 17 people dead with a military-style rifle.
“I really believe I’d run in there even if I didn’t have a weapon, and I think most of the people in this room would have done that, too,” Trump said to a group of state governors gathered at the White House for talks on multiple issues.
Trump then singled out a sheriff’s deputy assigned to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., calling his lack of action during the Feb. 14 shooting “disgusting.”
But he also added: “You never know until you’re tested.”
CNN.com
Noting that the local law enforcement officials received warnings about the shooter’s behavior, Trump said, “the only worse job is they didn’t nab this guy earlier.”
While criticising local law enforcement, Trump went on further to outline a gun control and school safety program which includes expanded background checks, increasing the age limit for purchase of semi-automatic weapons, eliminating “bump stocks” and other devices that turn semi-automatic weapons into automatic ones, as well as emphasizing mental health issues, and arming “highly trained” teachers and school officials.
Some of these ideas have drawn strong opposition, including governors who questioned the proposed to give teachers guns.
“I just suggest we need a little less tweeting here,” said Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, a Democrat, during a discussion about arming teachers.
Throughout the day, White House officials and governors caucused on a number of items in which they can work together.
In addition to gun control, healthcare, agriculture policy, workforce development, and infrastructure were discussed.
Trump is reportedly meeting with a variety of people on the gun issue. He told governors that over the weekend he had lunch with two prominent National Rifle Association officials, Wayne LaPierre and Chris Cox; the NRA opposes the proposed age increase, as well as other items they say infringe on Second Amendment gun rights.
While expressing to the governors “don’t worry about the NRA, they’re on our side,” Trump said, “sometimes we’re going to have to be very tough and we’re going to have to fight them.”
As for background checks, Trump said that he wants to make it harder for mentally ill people to be able to buy guns.
Yet it’s unclear what congress will do; Republican congressional leaders have not said how they plan to address the gun issue, given a number of opinions on the subject.