Trump backpedals on age limits, focuses on arming teachers
US President Donald Trump says he will wait for the courts to rule before acting on raising the minimum age for some gun purchases, dropping his previous proposal regarding this issue.
"On 18 to 21 Age Limits, watching court cases and rulings before acting. States are making this decision. Things are moving rapidly on this, but not much political support (to put it mildly)," Trump wrote on Twitter on Monday.
Trump, however, said he believed armed teachers would deter school shootings and better protect students when they happen.
“Very strong improvement and strengthening of background checks will be fully backed by White House. Legislation moving forward. Bump Stocks will soon be out. Highly trained expert teachers will be allowed to conceal carry, subject to State Law. Armed guards OK, deterrent!.......” Trump tweeted on Monday.
Trump proposed last month to arm teachers to deter school shootings, a controversial idea that has drawn little support from educators, including the National Education Association, the country’s largest teachers lobby.
On Sunday, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said that arming school staff is part of a "pragmatic plan to dramatically increase school safety.”
The new measures come during a reignited national debate on gun control that was revived by survivors of last month's massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, where a former student with a semi-automatic rifle gunned down 14 students and three staff.
The survivors have urged Congress to toughen restrictions on gun purchases, but such measures are fiercely opposed by the National Rifle Association (NRA), the nation’s powerful gun lobby.
On Friday, Florida Governor Rick Scott signed into law a gun control bill that was passed by the state’s legislature. The new law raises the minimum age to purchase a firearm from 18 to 21 and extends the waiting period to three days, a dramatic turnaround in one of the most gun-friendly states in America.
The NRA immediately filed a lawsuit at a US federal court in Florida after the gun control bill was signed into law, arguing that it violated the US Constitution.
The NRA has become the focus of a growing movement by activists who are demanding that US politicians stop accepting political donations from the gun lobby.
Trump was endorsed by the NRA in his 2016 presidential election campaign. The president and his fellow Republicans in Congress strongly support Americans’ constitutional right to own guns.
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