Trump promises action on guns to state governors after Florida shooting

World Today

US President Donald Trump gestures as he speaks during the 2018 White House business session with state governors in the State dining Room of the White House on February 26, 2018 in Washington, DC. ( AFP PHOTO / MANDEL NGAN)

Teachers at a Florida high school are back to work just two weeks after a gunman shot and killed 17 students and staff. School is expected to resume with students on Wednesday. Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump met with state governors in Washington, D.C.

As CGTN’s Roee Ruttenberg reports, Trump’s message was that they could do more to block mentally unstable people from getting their hands on weapons.

On Monday, President Trump again slammed the Florida high school security guard who waited outside while students inside were being shot.

Trump said he would’ve have been braver.

“I really believe I’d run in there even if I didn’t have a weapon. And I think most of the people in this room would have done that too,” Trump said as he was addressing U.S. state governors gathered in Washington for an annual meeting and primed talk with the president about the recent school mass shooting.

In the wake of this month’s rampage, students across the country have been staging demonstrations calling for more effective gun control. On Monday, more than a thousand gathered outside the Florida State Capitol building. They lashed out at lawmakers for accepting campaign contributions from the American gun rights lobby.

Trump suggested he’d be open to some restrictions that could pit him against the powerful National Rifle Association, or NRA. “They’re on our side. You guys, half of you are so afraid of the NRA. There’s nothing to be afraid of. And you know what If they’re not with you, we have to fight them every once in a while, that’s OK,” said Trump.

Trump said he’d ban so-called bump-stocks, which bump a semi-automatic rifle to function close to a fully automatic weapon. He also backed tougher background checks, which many governors said could be improved.

“When we do an FBI background check, it does not include an adjudication of mental illness. It does not include an adjudication of a domestic violence protection order or a conviction for domestic violence,” Brian Sandoval, Republican Governor of Nevada explained.

Meanwhile, in Florida, teachers were back to work at the scene of the crime. On Wednesday, students are expected to return, as well.

One student, Maddy Wilford, still hospitalized in recovery, spoke out for the first time. “I’m so grateful to be here and it wouldn’t be possible without those officers and first responders and these amazing doctors. And especially all the love that everyone has sent,” said the student.

At least one governor pushed back against a Trump proposal to arm more school staff. Jay Inslee, a Democrat from the State of Washington, who said: more guns in school are not the answer. He stood up in the meeting and suggested to Trump that he tweet less and listen more.