Thread: Trump suggests arming teachers as a solution to increase school safety

Trump suggests arming teachers as a solution to increase school safety

CNN Digital Expansion 2017
By Dan Merica and Betsy Klein, CNN
Updated 7:20 PM ET, Wed February 21, 2018

Washington (CNN) President Donald Trump, after listening to a series of emotional stories and pleas to enhance school safety at the White House Wednesday, floated the idea of arming teachers and school staff, an idea that was met with support from many of the attendees.

"If you had a teacher who was adept the firearm, they could end the attack very quickly," he said, stating that schools could arm up to 20% of their teachers to stop "maniacs" who may try and attack them.

"This would be obviously only for people who were very adept at handling a gun, and it would be, it's called concealed carry, where a teacher would have a concealed gun on them. They'd go for special training and they would be there and you would no longer have a gun-free zone," Trump said. "Gun-free zone to a maniac -- because they're all cowards -- a gun-free zone is 'let's go in and let's attack because bullets aren't coming back at us.' "

The comment came during a White House listening session marked by poignant testimony from students and parents affected by school shootings. Trump offered some solutions, calling for more mental institutions and hospitals in addition to the idea of arming teachers.

"I'm not here to debate, but I lost my sister. And like Mr. President said, if you could find 20%b of maybe retired law enforcement officers, or a teacher who could go through discreet training to carry a firearm around his waist, it could've been a very different situation," Hunter Pollack, one of Meadow Pollack's brothers, said. "We need more security, we need more firearms on campus, we need better background checks, and we need to study more on mental health."

Fred Abt, father of Parkland shooting survivor Carson Abt, said he had discussed with Education Secretary Betsy DeVos over lunch that rather than waiting for first responders to arrive, it would be more efficient to have firearms locked on school campuses.

"One possible solution, which may not be very popular, would be to have people in the school, teachers, administrators who have volunteered to have a firearm safely locked in the classroom who are given training throughout the year," he said. "There are plenty of teachers who are already licensed to carry firearms, have them raise their hands to volunteer for the training, and when something like this starts, the first responders are already on campus."

But not all agreed with that approach.

Nicole Hockley, whose six-year-old son was killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook elementary school shooting, took the microphone and told Trump she would rather arm teachers with ways to prevent shootings in the first place rather than with a firearm.
"Let's talk about prevention," Hockley said. "There is so much we can do to help this person before we reach this point."

But many others embraced the President's idea.

Andrew Pollack, a father of one of the 17 victims who died in last week's Florida shooting, said he was speaking Wednesday because his daughter couldn't.

"We as a country failed our children," he said. "This shouldn't happen."

He asked how it was that America could protect its airports, its concerts, its embassies and even the elevators at the Department of Education, but not its schools.

"How many schools, how many children have to get shot? It stops here with this administration and me. I'm not going to sleep until it is fixed. And Mr. President, we'll fix it. Because I'm going to fix it. I'm not going to rest," he said.

Standing feet from the President, Pollack raised his voice at one point: "I'm pissed. It was my daughter I am not going to see again. She is not here. She is not here. She is in North Lauderdale at whatever it is, King David Cemetery, that is where I go to see my kid now."

My beautiful daughter, I'm never going to see her again. It's simple. Let's fix it," he said.

Justin Gruber, 15, who was affected by the Parkland shooting, said he was born after Columbine, which marked a new era in school safety.

"I was born into a world where I never got to experience safety and peace. There needs to be a significant change in this country. This has to never happen again," he said. "People should be able to feel like when they go to school it can be safe. There needs to be a change. People need to feel safe. Parents shouldn't have to go through the idea of losing their child."

Trump responded to the series of emotional stories from the survivors and parents of victims from the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School by pledging to get to work on school shootings "two minutes" after the listening session.
"We don't want others to go through the kind of pain you have gone through," Trump said. "It wouldn't be right."

Trump, flanked by the students, went around the room and shook hands before opening the event.

The event, hosted in the White House's State Dining Room, brought Trump face-to-face with students and parents who have demanded action on gun violence. The President -- who was elected with the support of the National Rifle Association -- has so far expressed support for regulating bump-fire stocks, which make it easier to fire rounds more quickly, and strengthening background checks for gun purchases.

Latest massacre

The event comes a week after 17 people were killed at the shooting in Parkland, Florida, a massacre that has led students, parents and teachers from the school to call on Trump to take action. Students led protests in front of the White House over the weekend and another group of students walked out of schools on Wednesday gathered in front of the White House to demand action.

To date, the Trump administration has stuck to discussing taking action on guns, not actually lobbying Congress on moving any new legislation. But White House deputy press secretary Raj Shah said in a statement on Monday that Trump spoke with Sen. John Cornyn, a Texas Republican, on Friday about a bill he introduced with Sen. Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat, that aims to strengthen how state and federal governments report offenses that could prohibit people from buying a gun.

"While discussions are ongoing and revisions are being considered, the President is supportive of efforts to improve the federal background check system," Shah said. Students, teachers and lawmakers have urged Trump and other Republican lawmakers to take action on guns in the wake of the Parkland shooting.

Any action on guns would be a balancing act for Trump. His political base of Republican voters overwhelmingly disapprove of most gun control actions and the President has enjoyed the support of the NRA.

Trump has not always been deeply tied to the NRA, though.

"I generally oppose gun control, but I support the ban on assault weapons and I support a slightly longer waiting period to purchase a gun," he wrote in his 2000 book, "The America We Deserve." "With today's Internet technology, we should be able to tell within 72 hours if a potential gun owner has a record."

Trump disavowed those statements during the 2016 campaign.

Polls have found, however, that most Americans blame Trump and Congress for not doing more on guns. A new Washington Post/ABC News poll released Tuesday found that 62% of respondents said Trump is not doing enough to prevent mass shootings and 77% say Congress is doing an inadequate job on the issue.

Trump vowed Wednesday that his administration would look strongly into gun purchase ages, as well as the "mental health aspect."

He thanked the students and the parents who participated, saying, "We're fighting hard for you and we will not stop... I just grieve for you, I feel so -- to me, there could be nothing worse than what you've gone through."

He continued, "Thank you for pouring out your hearts because the world is watching and we're going to come up with a solution."

CNN's Meg Wagner, Betsy Klein and Noah Gray contributed to this report.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/21/polit...nts/index.html

Some of these teachers are "maniacs". They think it is okay for boys to go to the bathroom in the girls room. No guns.

Set up security surveillance like in casinos and prisons. A guard monitors the TV systems. Cameras in all hallways.

Amber Alert ticker tape "silent" message goes to each classroom on the monitor and the teachers phones.

The guard can instantly send the message Code Red...lockdown classroom. There is NO fire.

Don't forget...this guy pulled the FIRE ALARM...know one knew is was not a fire. Were the teachers going to come out with guns drawn during a false fire alarm...NO.

Oh...and the police have the time to ascertain who is the "good" guy with a gun...NO.

They could have been alerted on the ticker tape and the guard could have alerted the police instantly with the monitor system.

Boy, I can just see several teachers running around with guns and the students running around in mass mayhem. No way.

Truly sad what has happened. School days for many students are very different today than they were when many of us attended school. Problems have multiplied and grown. There is such rampant disrespect in general for fellow human beings, so many broken homes, dangerous outside influences. Even drugs that are given can be the trigger for violence.

Young people need more positive tools and guidance in how to deal with anger, disappointment, etc. More mentors, encouragers, others may be able to reach out to someone to be their safe haven to express thoughts and feelings without violent and deadly outbursts and consequences.


Arming more people at schools seems to be necessary. It takes too long for law enforcement to arrive and children and teachers are sitting ducks. Multi layers of protection could thwart would be killers.

Personally, I also believe that the removal of God and the Bible from public school has had a negative effect. Moral crisis in our nation.

IMO, this is an issue that will require a combination of fixes. Interestingly, none of those that spoke even mentioned bringing God and patriotism back into the schools. When I went to school we were all made to stand, no exceptions, together in the mornings and recite the pledge of allegiance. We also were able to pray together at school functions such as sports events, school club meetings, etc. Heck, in elementary school I even remember our principle saying a prayer prior to lunch over the intercom every single day. Oh, and we also stood for the National Anthem prior to all sporting events.

Unless you attend a religious school, there is no respect for God or country these days. Kids these days, especially the older ones, are so divided by multiculturalism (thanks to heavy immigration), racist gangs, drugs, language barriers, etc. There is more separating them than is bringing them together. This may all seem like a little thing to most of you, but I think it makes a difference.

I've got no problem with funding police departments to provide armed resource officers to our schools, metal detectors, or maybe even arming some well-trained teachers. However, I also believe we must do a better job of dealing with the mindset of our children. Shared values and demanded respect for each other and the teachers is the first place we need to start (IMO). I know, easier said than done.

In high school I used to occasionally carry a rifle or shotgun to school in my truck during hunting season for a little afternoon hunting after school and I wasn't the only one. I don't recall any rules against it. Of course football season used to interfere with my hunting, but after football season it was on.

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