President Trump plans to unveil a proposal on Sunday that would encourage school systems around the country to allow armed staff on school premises, The Wall Street Journal reports.
According to the Journal, the plan will signal the president’s support for two bills currently in Congress as well as set up a commission to identify grant money for school systems that find a way to issue concealed carry permits to some staff members to help guard against school shootings.
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The two bills currently being considered by Congress would improve the nation’s background check system and authorize $50 million for school safety improvements. The plan does not address a number of issues supported by gun control advocates, including a ban on bump stocks or raising the minimum age required to purchase a rifle to 21.
The Justice Department, however, is considering a measure that would ban bump stocks as part of an existing ban on machine guns, the Journal reported Saturday.
“President Trump is absolutely committed to ensuring the safety and security of every American, and he has directed us to propose a regulation addressing bump stocks,” Attorney General Jeff Sessions said.
Trump’s proposal comes in the midst of a national conversation on gun violence and school safety that began in February after a gunman killed 17 students and faculty at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla.
The president has signaled rare GOP support for gun control positions in recent weeks, and has chided GOP lawmakers for fearing retribution from the National Rifle Association (NRA).
“Some of you people are petrified of the NRA,” he said during a meeting with lawmakers. “You can’t be petrified.”
During a Cabinet meeting Thursday, Trump vowed that a ban on bump stocks as a legal item in the U.S. was almost “finished.”
“Bump stocks are just about finished, from the standpoint of getting the legal work done,” he said.