President Donald Trump offered a full-throated endorsement of the National Rifle Association on Thursday as the organization mounted an offensive against efforts to tighten gun restrictions in the wake of a Florida school shooting that killed 17 people.
It was a jarring contrast just a day after his emotional meeting with students and parents affected by recent school massacres. Earlier Thursday morning, Trump went the furthest he’s ever gone on gun control, saying in a tweet he’d push for tougher background checks that screen for mental health, raising the minimum age of buyers to 21, and ending the sale of bump stocks.
The president Thursday proposed “a little bit of a bonus” for teachers who go through “rigorous” training to carry guns in the classroom, saying he hoped they would be “people with great talent at guns” such as military veterans.
Trump told state and local officials at the White House for a discussion of school safety that “you can’t hire enough security guards” to protect shooters but “you could have” firearms “concealed on teachers” and “nobody would know who they are.”
The president heaped praise on the NRA, which has been one of the most powerful political opponents to gun control measures, just minutes before its chief executive officer, Wayne LaPierre, took the stage at the Conservative Political Action Conference. LaPierre proceeded to blast school officials, local law enforcement and the FBI for failing to prevent school shootings.
LaPierre and the NRA’s chief lobbyist, Chris Cox, are “Great People and Great American Patriots,” Trump said, adding that “They love our Country and will do the right thing.”
LaPierre called for more armed security at schools and criticized the notion of making schools “gun-free zones,” which he said are targets for potential shooters, echoing the comments Trump has made.
The NRA chief lashed out at Democrats including Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut, who has long pushed for tighter gun laws, for “politicizing” the Florida shooting. He said “elites” want to “eradicate all individual freedoms.”
“They want to sweep right under the carpet the failure of school security, the failure of family, the failure of America’s mental health system, and even the unbelievable failure of the FBI,” LaPierre said.
Background Checks
While Trump said he would push “comprehensive background checks” with an emphasis on mental health, an Obama-era gun rule aimed at preventing people with serious mental illness from buying guns was one of the first targets of Republicans in Congress last year. Lawmakers used a special procedure under the Congressional Review Act to do away with the rule.
Trump said in a tweet earlier Thursday that 20 percent of teachers “would now be able to 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.”
Gun stocks rose Thursday after declining the two prior days. American Outdoor Brands Corp. rose 4.1 percent to $10.48 and Sturm Ruger & Co. was up 3.2 percent to $48.80 at 11:40 a.m. New York time.
The president and lawmakers have struggled to respond to public demands for action in the wake of the latest mass shooting, mindful of the clout gun-rights enthusiasts hold in the Republican party, which controls the White House and both chambers of Congress.
The NRA is one of the biggest spenders in elections, ranking 9th among all outside groups, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. In 2016, the NRA’s political arms spent $54.4 million influencing elections, Federal Election Commission records show, including $19.8 million attacking Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and $11.4 million promoting Trump. The NRA also spent $500,000 or more on 7 Senate races, including in battleground states Florida, Ohio and Wisconsin.
Trump was endorsed by the NRA and has routinely touted his support for the organization, and his campaign said he opposed expanding the background check system or imposing new restrictions on gun and magazine bans. Trump is expected to speak at the CPAC event on Friday.
Trump announced Tuesday he would propose regulations to ban “bump stocks” used to allow semi-automatic rifles to fire like automatic weapons. He signaled support for bipartisan legislation to improve data collection for the federal gun-sale background check system.
Trump said he called many lawmakers Wednesday evening to discuss background checks and that many prior opponents of toughening them have changed their minds.
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His support for arming teachers would eliminate the gun-free zones in and around schools enshrined in a nearly three-decade-old federal law. The idea prompted sharp rebukes from some Democrats and misgivings from at least one prominent Republican.
Murphy said on CNN that the proposal was “a recipe for disaster,” adding that there was no evidence that it would prevent shootings.
Senator Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican, told a CNN town hall meeting on Wednesday that he opposed arming teachers.
Trump on Thursday tried to explain his rationale for arming school staff members. “History shows that a school shooting lasts, on average, 3 minutes,” Trump tweeted. “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!”
“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!” Trump wrote.
Trump has signaled support for a bipartisan Senate bill that would strengthen current laws requiring federal agencies to report information to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. The House passed a similar bill in December, but added legislation that would require states to recognize concealed carry licenses from other states. House conservatives would likely balk at separating the two issues, while the House version of the bill would likely fail in the Senate.
A Quinnipiac poll released Tuesday found 97 percent support for universal background checks, while 67 percent backed a ban on the sale of assault weapons.
Michael R. Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg L.P., which operates Bloomberg News, serves as a member of Everytown for Gun Safety’s advisory board and is a donor to the group. Everytown for Gun Safety advocates for universal background checks and other gun control measures.
