Trump proposes arming teachers during CPAC speech

World Today

Trump proposes arming teachers during CPAC speech

U.S. President Donald Trump addressed the annual Conservative gathering also known as CPAC.

As CGTN’s Jim Spellman reports, the debate on US gun control was a big part of his speech.

President Trump said more guns will make schools safer. He proposes arming trained teachers with concealed handguns in response to last week’s deadly school shooting in Florida.

“This is maybe 10 percent or 20 percent of teachers. It’s not all of them, but you would have a lot and you would tell people they are inside and the beauty is it’s concealed. Unless they needed it so this crazy man when he walks in wouldn’t even know who it is that has it…and the teacher would have shot the hell out of him before he knew what happened,” Trump said at the Conservative Political Action Conference, or CPAC.

The sheriff in Parkland, Florida, where 17 people were gunned down last week, said an armed deputy was at the school during the shooting but he stayed outside and failed to take action.

Trump said teachers love their students, and they would be more likely to take action against a shooter.

Many educators are rejecting the idea of carrying guns in school.

“I am totally against arming teachers with that. And it’s not just about me, you just got talk to teaching professionals of whether that makes sense. If we really want to do something, spend money on adding more school resource officers and law enforcement personnel out there,” said Robert Runcie, Broward County Florida School Superintendent.

President Trump is resisting proposals to ban assault weapons, a policy promoted by many gun control advocates and many survivors of last week’s shooting.