President Trump promised a group of students, parents, and teachers during an emotional listening session on Wednesday that his administration will take action to tighten gun laws and tackle other issues that have led to mass shootings across the United States.
“It’s not going to be talk like it has been in the past,” Trump told several students who survived the recent massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and were invited to personally deliver their suggestions to the president to prevent future shootings.
Flanked by young students in the White House East Room, the president said school shootings have “been going on for far too long” and he intends to “get it done” when it comes to expanding background checks, ensuring mental health issues are dealt with appropriately, and boosting security at schools across the country.
“We’re going to be very strong on background checks… and then we are going to do plenty of other things,” Trump said, noting that he will discuss school safety and other ideas during meetings later this week with law enforcement officials and members of the National Governor’s Association.
The president also said he is considering raising the age at which young Americans can legally purchase a semi-automatic weapon, like the AR-15 rifle used by 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz in last Tuesday’s massacre.
“We’re going to go very strongly into age of purchase and the mental health aspect of what’s going on,” he said, drawing nods of approval from some attendees.
Several students who participated in Wednesday’s listening session thanked Trump for vowing to take action in the wake of the Parkland shooting.
“I appreciate you looking at the bump stocks yesterday,” said one female student who escaped the rampage last Tuesday, but lost several close friends. “That’s definitely a step in the right direction.”
Another student, Jonathan Blank, said he was shot at during the shooting and has struggled to make sense of what happened.
“In my mind as a kid, nothing that horrible should ever have to happen to you,” Blank told Trump. “It doesn’t even seem real still. I don’t even know what’s going on.”
He continued, “Thank you for everything. You’ve done a great job and I like the direction that you’re going in.”
Some of those present for the discussion appeared the favor stronger security inside school facilities, including permitting teachers who have been trained in firearm use and safety to be armed while on the job. The president himself seemed to favor such a move, suggesting teachers who are “adept at firearms” could “very well end the attack very quickly” in the event of a school shooting.
That runs counter, however, to what the president said about arming teachers during his 2016 campaign.
“Crooked Hillary said that I want guns brought into the school classroom. Wrong!” he tweeted in May 2016.
