White House reveals gun and school safety proposals

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last updated 12 March 2018

The White House on Sunday unveiled policy proposals it says will make schools safer, in response to the mass shooting at a Parkland, Florida, high school last month that left 17 people dead.

The Trump administration is backing a bipartisan bill designed to improve effectiveness of the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, and also the STOP School Violence Act, which would authorize grants to launch violence prevention training for teachers and students. Officials said the administration will also work on "rigorous" firearms training for "specially qualified" school personnel, audit the FBI tip line, and better integrate mental health programs.

Trump is also establishing a Federal Commission on School Safety to be chaired by Education Secretary Betsy DeVos; it will be tasked with coming up with solutions to end gun violence in schools. "We are committed to working quickly because there's no time to waste," DeVos said Sunday evening. The White House did not mention raising the age of purchasing a rifle like the AR-15 used in Parkland from 18 to 21, something Trump was open to after the shooting.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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