- President Trump hosted grieving students and parents from the Florida school shooting massacre at the White House
- After hearing ideas from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students, he put forward his own idea
- He touted concealed-carry permits for teachers
- Said it could involve up to 20 per cent of the teaching force
- Proposal would lead to 640,000 force of armed teachers
- Suggested Marines or former servicemembers could participate
- Said they would be spread throughout the school
- He had tweeted in 2016: ‘Crooked Hillary said that I want guns brought into the school classroom. Wrong!’
President Donald Trump put forward a proposal to arm up to a fifth of teachers after hearing emotional appeals for action from students and parents still grieving from the Florida school massacre.
Trump floated the conceal-carry proposal after a White House listening session, where some students called for regulation of assault weapons, an angry parent called for hardened school security, and others just demanded ‘change.’
After listening from a circle of participants, Trump floated his own idea, calling for arming teachers and coaches, and even bringing in Marines.
‘Lets say you had 20 percent of your teaching force, because that’s pretty much the number’ Trump said, describing how it might work.
President Trump suggested arming teachers during a listening session Wednesday at the White House with gun violence victims
There are an estimated 3.2 million teachers or full-time equivalent teachers – which would put the armed force at 640,000 – larger than the U.S. Army, which is set to drop to 450,000 at the end of the year.
Trump said the teachers with guns would be ‘adept at firearms’ and would get ‘great training.’
Trump also mentioned Marines, saying those armed on a sprawling campus like the one in Parkland, Florida would be ‘spread evenly,’ rather than having a single security guard.
The staff with guns would be ‘adept at firearms,’ Trump said.
Donald Trump met with survivors from the Parkland school shooting at the White House Wednesday
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School student Samuel Zeif wipes tears next to Nicole Hockley of Sandy Hook Promise as President Trump hosts a listening session with high school shooting survivors and students to discuss school safety
He acknowledged it was a controversial idea. ‘We can understand both sides. Certainly it’s controversial,’ he said. Trump complained that the shooter ‘shot have been nabbed.’
But with teachers and coaches armed, ‘That would’ve been the end of it.’
He said those armed would be ‘very adept.’
Trump said when there’s an intruder, ‘You will no longer have a gun free zone.’
The president’s proposal seemed to be an about-face from where he stood during the 2016 campaign.
Trump had tweeted that May: ‘Crooked Hillary said that I want guns brought into the school classroom. Wrong!’