After the White House announced last night declared that it would back a new Justice Department program to help states train teachers and other school personnel to carry guns, President Trump has weighed in personally in a series of tweets, saying the White House would “watch court cases and rulings” before making a final decision on whether to raise age limits for rifle purchases.
Trump touted the “very strong improvement and strengthening of background checks” – a reference to the bipartisan “Fix NICS” bill that the administration has said it would support- and said “legislation would be moving forward,” adding that “bump stocks will soon be out!”
Also, “highly trained expert teachers” would be trained by the state to carry concealed weapons.
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!…….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 12, 2018
….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).
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 12, 2018
Last night, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said she will chair a government commission exploring steps to prevent school violence, per Politico.
“We are committed to working quickly because there’s no time to waste,” DeVos said on a conference call with reporters. “No student, no family, no teacher and no school should have to live the horror of Parkland or Sandy Hook or Columbine again.”
The commission’s work is expected to be completed within a year.
Trump’s comments about the age-limit legislation represents yet another position-shift. Trump initially promised that the NRA would sanction lifting age limits, but was then forced to walk it back.
However, Florida Gov. Rick Scott just signed a bill raising the age limit on rifle purchases to 21 in his state after it initially faced opposition from Republicans.
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