Trump wants to do 'something' about the Florida shooting, but no one seems quite sure what


President Trump offered little indication of his preferred policy response to the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting earlier this week, but privately he has been telling people "we have to do something," ABC News reports. Although it is not clear what form that action might take — White House sources said they weren't sure what the president was considering — The New Yorker notes that Trump's lone call for a policy response in his address was to "tackle the difficult issue of mental health."
Others have also noted that the issue is "difficult," to say the least. Adam Gopnik writes at The New Yorker that Trump's calls so far say "nothing" because "every country contains mentally ill and potentially violent people. Only America arms them." Trump signed legislation last year nullifying a rule designed to keep guns out of the hands of people with mental illness.
White House spokesman Raj Shah has confirmed Trump is exploring potential responses: "The president wants to take leadership and actually fix this problem and create best practices across the country," Shah said on Fox News. "There are a lot of specific policy proposal we'll be looking at."
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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
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