President Trump is hosting state and local officials at the White House on Thursday as part of the administration’s ongoing efforts to hear from communities directly impacted by mass shootings and provide a forum to discuss measures to prevent similar tragedies from happening. Thursday’s session focuses on school safety in the wake of the deadly Parkland, Florida shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
This meeting follows a conversation the president, along with senior administration officials, had with students, parents and teachers at the White House Wednesday, in which they shared stories of their experiences with shootings and demands on how to address to growing issue.
According to the White House the following are expected to attend Thursday’s session:
- Attorney General Pam Bondi (R, FL)
- Attorney General Curtis Hill (R, IN)
- Commissioner Rick Sanders, Kentucky State Police
- Commissioner Pam Stewart, Florida Department of Education
- Paula Stone, Deputy Director, Arkansas Division of Behavioral Health
- Sheriff Charles Stuart McDonald, Henderson County (R, NC)
- State Representative Patrick Neville (R, CO)
- James D. O’Donnell, Former Chief of Police, New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority & Orange CountyLegislator (R, NY)
- Fred Kittle, School Board Member, Bartow County (GA)
- Parkland Mayor Christine Hunschofsky (D, FL)
The president has since signaled he would be open to raising the age limit of those who can purchase a weapon like the one used in the Parkland shooting. He announced a proposal for the Justice Department to draft regulations that would ban any devices that would turn legal, semi-automatic firearms into automatic weapons, also known as “bump stocks.” On Thursday he also said he would be “strongly pushing” for better background checks with an emphasis on mental health, after signaling he would be open to looking into the bipartisan-crafted “Fix NICS” bill on Monday.
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!
Mr. Trump suggested a more controversial measure in a series of tweets on Thursday, saying that he would be open to exploring the idea of “gun adept teachers with military or special training experience” being able to carry concealed weapons at schools.
“…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!”
He added “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!”
The president said that “highly trained” school staffers could solve the problem of a shooter “instantly” before police arrive on the scene, calling the idea a “great deterrent.”
