POTUS doubles down with bold prediction about arming teachers

President Trump is continuing to support having some teachers conceal carry firearms as a protection against school shootings.

The president predicted on Saturday that incidents like this month’s mass shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School “will not happen again” if “firearms adept” instructors are selected to carry a gun on campus in the event of an attack.

Armed Educators (and trusted people who work within a school) love 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.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 24, 2018

President Trump said that school personnel chosen to carry a firearm would be given a “yearly bonus” and receive annual training.

“Armed Educators (and trusted people who work within a school) love 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.”

He also emphasized that the decision on arming teachers should be left to the states.

Many gun control advocates have criticized the notion of allowing educators to carry firearms on campus, arguing that only more restrictive gun laws will curb mass shootings.

Arming teachers is a an incredibly bad idea. Instead of making teachers do yet another job, we should help them buy school supplies and educate our children.

— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) February 25, 2018

https://twitter.com/waltshaub/status/967191981691719680

The NRA is attempting pull off one of their greatest heists yet by selling weapons to schools. They KNOW that arming teachers would have had no impact on the tragedies in Las Vegas, or Sutherland Springs, or San Bernardino, or Orlando.

— Congressmember Bass (@RepKarenBass) February 24, 2018

The @NRA & @realDonaldTrump would rather have us argue about this harebrained non-starter idea of arming teachers, rather than moving ahead with commonsense #gunviolence reforms supported by a vast majority of Americans. Don’t be distracted.

— Rep. Eric Swalwell (@RepSwalwell) February 24, 2018

President Trump previously cited police response time as a factor in his support for teacher concealed carry at schools, calling armed staff a “great deterrent.”

….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!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 22, 2018

….If a potential “sicko shooter” knows that a school has a large number of very weapons talented teachers (and others) who will be instantly shooting, the sicko will NEVER attack that school. Cowards won’t go there…problem solved. Must be offensive, defense alone won’t work!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 22, 2018

Some critics have pointed to news that four Broward Sheriff’s deputies hid outside while the shooting went on as evidence that having armed faculty would not keep students safe.

So FOUR 'good guys with a gun' were not able to stop the bad guy.
I think this kinda ends the 'arm the teachers' bullsh*t, don't you? https://t.co/hVHtw7negn

— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) February 23, 2018

In 1981, as Ronald Reagan emerged from the Capitol Hilton, he was surrounded by good guys with guns, all top marksmen, all highly trained.

And he was shot.

So does the @NRA and @POTUS think he would have been saved if he had been protected instead by teachers?

— Kurt Eichenwald (@kurteichenwald) February 22, 2018

Others disagreed.

https://twitter.com/dbongino/status/967182562794885121

https://twitter.com/JamesHasson20/status/967162976003338241

So the problem is bad guys with guns and the Left's answer is to make absolutely sure the good guys have no guns?

— Bill Mitchell (@mitchellvii) February 17, 2018

https://twitter.com/SouthernKeeks/status/966823788015947776

During the shooting, Stoneman Douglas football coach Aaron Feis gave his life using his body as a human shield to protect students from gunfire.

Feis doubled as an unarmed security guard for the school.

In addition to arming teachers, President Trump’s school safety proposals include expanding background checks, raising the firearms purchase age to 21, and banning bump fire stocks–devices that enable semiautomatic weapons to simulate automatic rapid fire.

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

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