The shooting inside the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida that killed 17 persons is another incidence of gun violence in the United States. Students took to the streets to protest against the inadequacy of the existing Gun Control. Therefore, Donald Trump called for a meeting with the state governors to assure them that the administration would be taking suitable measures to curb such tragedies.
New Zealand Herald reports that the president criticized the inaction of a police officer who was present in the vicinity, had heard the shots being fired but did not enter the premises even though he was armed.
An attorney for the officer has clarified that the reason was not of cowardice. It seems the officer presumed that the shooting was happening outside the building. The officer has since resigned.
Change is a must
The meeting between Donald Trump and the governors discussed not just the February 14 massacre in Parkland, Florida that took 17 lives but also different aspects of gun control. One suggestion of the president was to regulate "bump stocks." These are devices that can be added to semiautomatic weapons to convert them into lethal weapons that could operate as fully automatic machine guns. Such a mechanism was used by the gunman who killed about 60 people last year in a country music event in Las Vegas.
However, the gunman in the Parkland shooting used an AR-15 semiautomatic weapon that he had procured legally.
Trump felt that if "bump stocks" are transferred into the machine-gun category, it would be difficult to procure. He added that he could be going in for legislative action if Congress did not act. He also added that he has discussed the matter with the National Rifle Association, and in his opinion, the powerful gun lobby will work out a formula to contain the evil.
Raising the age limit
The age of the gunman in the Florida shooting incident that killed 17 persons was 19 years. Earlier, in 2012, the Sandy Hook shooter in Newtown, Connecticut, killed 26 persons – his age was 20. Obviously, the existing gun control laws must be modified to ensure that such weapons do not end up in the wrong hands.
One option could be to raise the age limit of purchasers.
According to the Washington Post, Donald Trump had dropped hints last week about having a relook at the age limit and endorsing a higher age requirement for those who purchase guns. However, during the meeting with the governors, the subject of raising the minimum purchasing age for rifles to 21 was not discussed.