President Donald Trump insisted again on Twitter that armed educators would end school shootings and promised yearly bonuses to those who kept weapons in their classroom.
The president proposed a controversial bill on Wednesday to provide as many as 20 percent of teachers with concealed and carry permits after meeting with students from Marjory Stoneman High School.
He beefed up his proposal saying educators who chose to have weapons in their classroom would receive a ‘yearly bonus’.
Neither Trump nor the White House has said who would pay to train them, but the decision would be ‘up to states’.
Trump said in a tweet on Saturday: ‘Armed Educators (and trusted people who work within a school) lover our students and will protect them.
‘Very smart people. Must be firearms adept & have annual training. Should get yearly bonus.
‘Shootings will not happen again – a big & very inexpensive deterrent. Up to States.’
President Donald Trump on doubled down on his controversial proposal to give teachers concealed carry permits on Thursday afternoon – saying as many as 20 percent of educators could be toting guns in some schools
President Trump (left) shakes the hand of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting survivors Carson Abt (center) and Ariana Klein (right) during a White House listening session on Wednesday
President Donald Trump published this tweet Saturday afternoon. He is pushing a proposal for teachers to carry firearms in the classrooms
The president told public officials that he envisioned a force of ex-Army, Navy Coast Guard personnel and Marines like his chief of staff John Kelly carrying concealed weapons on their person.
‘You can’t hire enough security guards. You would have 100, 150 security guys, ‘he told state and local leaders during a White House listening session. ‘Who wants that many security guards standing all over the place loaded up with guns? But you could have concealed on the teachers.’
Trump said gun-free zones are to a killer ‘like going in for the ice cream,’ saying, ‘That’s like “here I am, take me.” ‘
‘And by the way instead of advertising “this school has no guns, we are gun free,” you let people know the opposite, nobody’s going to attack that school, believe me,’ he said.
Trump explained in his tweet the use of teachers would be a ‘very inexpensive deterrent’ compared to the cost of extra security guards.
But only the most ‘adept’ teachers would be allowed to wield weapons. He insisted every educator would be required to have annual training.
Trump’s initial proposal on Wednesday to arm 20 percent of teachers was criticized as excessive – that’s roughly 650,000 of the nation’s educators – but the president insisted in a tweet that it would be a ‘GREAT DETERRENT’ to potential shooters.
In other tweets earlier this week Trump encouraged the age restriction to be raised to 21 years old for firearm purchases and a ban of bump stocks, which were used during the Las Vegas massacre.
A listening session was scheduled at the White House this week with President Trump who heard from students, parents and teachers affected by gun violence.
Trump told the victims his administration would go ‘go very strongly to age’ restrictions on firearms purchases and ‘go very strongly to the mental health aspect’ of shootings like the ones at Parkland and Sandy Hook.
But the National Rifle Association (NRA) does not believe the age needs to be increased to stop these massacres from happening. Instead, the increase in age would punish ‘law-abiding citizens for the evil acts of criminals’.
The NRA is currently in hot water from several companies that have previously supported the pro-gun organization.
As of Saturday afternoon, 14 organizations cut ties with the NRA after they were disappointed by its response to the most recent school shooting where 17 people were killed in Parkland, Florida.
The policy split played out on the eve of a conservative conference just outside of Washington, D.C. that attracts 10,000 of the movement’s most ardent supporters annually, including several thousand students. NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre is seen here skewering ideological opponents of the organization
NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre spoke during a conservative conference outside Washington D.C. on Thursday after Trump proposed raising the age restriction.
His appearance came during an influx of gun-control lobbyist attacked the organization and its control over policy in Washington.
In the speech, LaPierre went hard on his organization’s proposal to fill schools with armed guards. The conservative figure did not comment on Trump’s idea to turn teachers into a security force or on the age restrictions Trump wants to put on buying some guns.
Trump said later, after a conversation with the organization, that he did think he would find himself in a face-off with the NRA, however.
‘I spoke to them, and they’re ready to do things. They want to do things,’ Trump said at his school safety session. ‘The NRA is ready to do things.’
Asked if he was ready to go up against them, a reference to the dispute over age restrictions, Trump said, ‘I don’t think I’ll be going up against them. I really think the NRA wants to do what’s right.’