On Thursday morning, President Donald Trump tweeted that he would be “strongly pushing” legislation that would strengthen firearm background checks, raise the age limit for buying a long gun and ban the sale of bump stock modifications.
I will be strongly pushing Comprehensive Background Checks with an emphasis on Mental Health. Raise age to 21 and end sale of Bump Stocks! Congress is in a mood to finally do something on this issue – I hope!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 22, 2018
It’s a step — a wish list, perhaps — and it came the day after a so-called listening session in the White House with students, teachers and parents who have been affected by school shootings over the years.
The event was highlighted by an embarrassing photograph of a notecard held by Trump that surfaced after the meeting. One of the final talking points written down was “I hear you,” a sign that critics said exemplified how incapable he is at expressing empathy.
President Donald Trump holds notes during a White House listening session with students and parents affected by school shootings. (AP Photo by Carolyn Kaster) pic.twitter.com/Z0lZbSVaoF
— AP Politics (@AP_Politics) February 21, 2018
But during the event, the president suggested more teachers should carry concealed firearms in order to spring into action when and if a mass shooter attacks.
“Your concept and your idea about — it’s called concealed carry — and it only works where you have people very adept at using firearms, of which you have many, and it would be teachers and coaches,” Trump said during the session. “And this would only be, obviously, for people that are very adept at handling a gun.”
He added, “They’d go for special training. And they would be there, and you would no longer have a gun-free zone. A gun-free zone to a maniac — because they’re all cowards — a gun-free zone is, let’s go in and let’s attack, because bullets aren’t coming back at us.”
On Thursday morning, Trump lashed out, claiming that his proposal to arm teachers was being misrepresented. He tweeted that he “never said ‘give teachers guns'” but then doubled down on the idea of allowing at least certain teachers to carry concealed firearms.
I never said “give teachers guns” like was stated on Fake News @CNN & @NBC. What I said was to look at the possibility of giving “concealed guns to gun adept teachers with military or special training experience – only the best. 20% of teachers, a lot, would now be able to
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 22, 2018
….immediately fire back if a savage sicko came to a school with bad intentions. Highly trained teachers would also serve as a deterrent to the cowards that do this. Far more assets at much less cost than guards. A “gun free” school is a magnet for bad people. ATTACKS WOULD END!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 22, 2018
….History shows that a school shooting lasts, on average, 3 minutes. It takes police & first responders approximately 5 to 8 minutes to get to site of crime. Highly trained, gun adept, teachers/coaches would solve the problem instantly, before police arrive. GREAT DETERRENT!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 22, 2018
….If a potential “sicko shooter” knows that a school has a large number of very weapons talented teachers (and others) who will be instantly shooting, the sicko will NEVER attack that school. Cowards won’t go there…problem solved. Must be offensive, defense alone won’t work!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 22, 2018
The idea that a hero with a gun can save mass amounts of people from a bad person with a gun has long been a fantasy for Republicans. After recent shootings, Army veterans have even pointed out that it’s actually a myth, and it’s more likely than not that adding a gun would only exacerbate the tragedy.
At one point, Trump may have felt that same way himself.
Crooked Hillary said that I want guns brought into the school classroom. Wrong!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 22, 2016
Yet at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting last week, there was an armed officer on the scene, but details of his whereabouts during the incident still remain unclear.
“Where was the only guy with a gun when this happened?” Karen Dietrich, a Fort Lauderdale police officer whose two sons survived the tragedy asked, according to The New York Times. “I realize it’s a large campus, and he may have been on the other side, I don’t know. But it would not take six minutes on a full run to get from one end to the other.”
Broward County Deputy Scott Peterson was reported to have been “seeking cover behind a concrete column leading to a stairwell” during the time of the shooting, a police officer at a nearby school told the Times. The officer added that he feared the gunman could have been in the parking lot at the time.
“I don’t know what deputies or police officers went in first, or in what order they arrived,” Sheriff Scott Israel said. “This is a fluid investigation.”
Without issuing any criticism of Peterson, it’s quite easy to understand why heroic narratives may not always be a plausible concept to heavily rely on. Trump, of course, could also face pressure from the gun industry, as the National Rifle Association announced it would not support raising the age requirement for a long gun from 18 to 21.
As far as Congress actually passing gun legislation, it’s still anyone’s guess.
