Trump mulls arming teachers, increasing age for gun purchases

WASHINGTON (TIP): A week after the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland in which 17 students were killed, President Donald Trump hosted a listening session with a group of survivors, parents and teachers. On hand were Vice President Mike Pence and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos.

Trump held an emotional, hour-long meeting with students who survived the Florida shooting and a parent whose child did not. He said arming teachers and other school staff could help prevent future mass shootings, voicing support for an idea backed by the powerful National Rifle Association gun lobby.

Trump sat in the middle of a semi-circle in the White House State Dining Room. Photographers captured images of his handwritten note card with questions and responses such as: “What would you most want me to know about your experience?” and “I hear you.” Trump said he wants to hear suggestions for addressing the issue, saying, “After I listen, we’re going to get things done.”

Trump listened intently to ideas from about 40 people, including those from six students who survived the Florida shooting.

The students, many weeping, described the trauma of the shootings and pleaded that the government bring an end to gun violence.

The Republican president, who has championed gun rights and was endorsed by the NRA during the 2016 campaign, said he would move quickly to tighten background checks for gun buyers and would consider raising the age for buying certain types of guns.

He said he had “many ideas” and promised, “We’re going to be very strong on background checks.”

Trump spoke at length during the televised White House “listening session.

“If you had a teacher … who was adept at firearms, they could very well end the attack very quickly,” he said, while acknowledging the proposal was controversial. Some of the meeting participants indicated support. Others were opposed.

Mark Barden, whose son was killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Connecticut, said his wife, Jackie, a teacher “will tell you that school teachers have more than enough responsibilities right now than to have to have the awesome responsibility of lethal force to take a life.”

“I don’t understand why I could still go in a store and buy a weapon of war,” said Sam Zeif, 18, sobbing after he described texting his family members during the attack. “Let’s never let this happen again, please, please.”