President Donald Trump said Thursday he鈥檇 like to see bonuses for teachers willing to carry firearms to protect their students from an active school shooter. And he said he wants to make federal money available to provide school staff 鈥渁dditional training鈥� to use firearms properly.
鈥淚 think a concealed permit for teachers and letting people know there are people in the building with a gun, you won鈥檛 have, in my opinion you won鈥檛 have these shootings,鈥� the president said at a White House meeting on school safety, attended by U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, Florida state chief Pam Stewart, other cabinet officials, and senior White House staff. 鈥淲hat I鈥檇 recommend doing is the people that do carry, we give them a bonus, we give them a little bit of a bonus, because frankly they鈥檇 feel more comfortable having the gun anyway, you give them a little bit of a bonus, so practically for free you鈥檝e now made the school into a hardened target.鈥�
Trump floated a similar proposal at a with survivors and families of school shooting victims, including some connected to the recent slayings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, in Parkland, Fla.
At Thursday鈥檚 school safety meeting, Trump suggested that as many as 40 percent of school staff could become qualified to fire a weapon. And he called for 鈥渞igorous training鈥� for school staff on these firearms. 鈥淔rankly, you have teachers that are Marines for 20 years, they retire and become a teacher. They鈥檙e Army, Navy, Air Force, they鈥檙e Coast Guard, they鈥檙e people who have won shooting contests for whatever, this is what they do. They know guns, they understand guns,鈥� Trump said. "
Almost at exactly the same moment Trump made these remarks, Mo Canady, the executive director of the National Association of School Resource Officers fired off a statement condemning the idea of arming educators.
鈥淣ASRO strongly recommends that no firearms be on a school campus except those carried by carefully selected, specially trained school resource officers (SROs), who are career law enforcement officers with sworn authority, deployed by employing police departments or agencies in community-oriented policing assignments to work in collaboration with schools,鈥� Canady said.
Canady argued that, in the event of a shooting, an armed educator may be mistaken for an assailant. Teachers are unlikely to be mentally prepared to take the life of a shooter, especially a student, he added. Educators, too, may not be properly trained to ensure that no one else is hurt accidentally, as they try to take down a potential shooter, Canady said in his statement.
It would be better to use federal resources to place at least one well-trained school resource officer in every school in the country, Canady said.
But Trump said that increasing school police isn鈥檛 practical.
鈥淵ou can鈥檛 hire enough security guards,鈥� Trump said. 鈥淵ou need 100, 150 security guards [at a school]... But you could have [weapons] concealed on the teachers. I want my schools protected just like I want my banks protected.鈥�
That language echoes a speech that Wayne LaPierre, the executive vice president of the National Rifle Association, gave at the Conservative Political Action Conference earlier Thursday. At the meeting, Trump called the NRA, 鈥済ood people.鈥�
During the White House meeting, Stewart , the Florida commissoner, mentioned 鈥渁ctive shooter drills,鈥� which some schools in Florida require. Trump sees those as 鈥渁 very negative thing鈥�.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 like it,鈥� the president said. 鈥淚鈥檇 much rather have a hardened school ... I think it鈥檚 crazy. I think it鈥檚 very hard on children.鈥�
Trump also expressed concern about children鈥檚 exposure to violent videogames, movies, and online media.
鈥淲e have to look at the internet because a lot of bad things are happening to young kids and young minds and their minds are being formed, and we have to do something about maybe what they鈥檙e seeing and how they鈥檙e seeing it. And also video games. I鈥檓 hearing more and more people say the level of violence on video games is really shaping young people鈥檚 thoughts,鈥� Trump said.
And he said he鈥檇 like to focus on mental health, which he sees as a 鈥渧ery big issue.鈥�
鈥淲e want to ensure that when we see warning signs we act quickly, and when we have somebody that鈥檚 mentally unstable, like this guy that was a sicko, and there were a lot of warning signs, a lot of people were calling saying, 鈥楬ey, he鈥檚 going to do something bad,鈥� people have to act, " Trump said.
Trump鈥檚 budget proposal released earlier this month seeks to zero out federal Student Support and Academic Enrichment grants, a $400 million program districts can use to bolster their counseling and school safety services.
Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, center, and Attorney General Jeff Sessions, right, look on as President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with state and local officials to discuss school safety on Feb. 22 at the White House.--Evan Vucci/AP