Trump: Arming teachers in schools ‘up to States’

ABCNews.com(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump tweeted on Saturday in support of arming teachers following this month’s deadly shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, saying educators should have annual training and proposing they should get a yearly bonus for being armed.

Trump has supported the idea in recent days amid the national conversation on combatting mass shootings, but in this tweet, he said arming teachers should be “up to States.”

“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 tweeted.

Earlier Saturday morning, Trump retweeted his own tweet from two days ago, in which he calls for background checks “with an emphasis on mental health,” raising the age to be eligible to purchase a gun to 21, and banning bump stocks.

Over the past week, the president has mentioned several proposals besides arming teachers, including strengthening background checks, raising the age restriction for gun purchases, bump stock bans, and adding more mental health resources. The White House is also looking at so-called “red-flag” laws, or extreme risk protection orders, at the state level.

“I think some states have had these red-flag laws for example, that remove firearms after you go to a judge for potentially dangerous individuals,” White House Deputy Press Secretary Raj Shah said during Thursday’s briefing. “That’s something that’s being done right now in a variety of states, right?  They have due process rights for these individuals.  It seems to be working in certain areas.  That’s something that we’re looking at and other places we’re looking at.”

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