President Trump announced on Twitter this morning that he will be backing comprehensive background checks for gun purchases with an emphasis, he said, on mental health. He also indicated support for raising the eligibility age for purchases of assault rifles to twenty-one.
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!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 22, 2018
Gun violence has dominated the debate this week as the President looks for ways to respond to calls from parents, teachers and students to do something to stem the tide of mass shootings plaguing American society.
Students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL, the scene of last week’s deadly mass shooting that left seventeen people, mainly students, dead, traveled to the Florida state capital of Tallahassee to demand action on gun control. A bill banning the sale of assault rifles, like the AR-15, the one used in the Parkland shooting, failed to advance in the state House of Representatives.
The President also took issue with the way some of his views on arming school teachers was being portrayed in the media. The President wrote that he favors arming teachers who, he said, are gun adept, in order to shorten the response time to a school shooting by responders and mitigate any damage.
“History shows that a school shooting lasts, on average, 3 minutes. It takes police & first responders approximately 5 to 8 minutes to get to site of crime. Highly trained, gun adept, teachers/coaches would solve the problem instantly, before police arrive. GREAT DETERRENT!” the President wrote.
Along with a ban on the gun accessories known as bump stocks, the White House has indicated that it favors legislation that would shore up the country’s background check-system. The FixNICS Act would incentivize states and federal agencies to keep the National Instant Criminal Background Check System updated with the latest information about individuals who should be prevented from purchasing firearms.
“While discussions are ongoing and revisions are being considered, the president is supportive of efforts to improve the Federal background check system,” White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters this week.