2A/GUNS/NRA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Trump confirmed on Monday [3-12-18] that his administration would not immediately pursue a proposal to raise the age limit for buying an assault rifle, going back on earlier pledges that he made after last month’s deadly mass shooting at a South Florida high school.
In a Twitter post, Mr. Trump said there was ‘not much political support (to put it mildly).’
In the pair of tweets, the president said the White House fully backs strengthening background checks and banning the use of bump stocks, which can turn a semiautomatic weapon into an automatic one. The White House also will move forward with its controversial plan to arm trained teachers with concealed firearms.
In the wake of the Feb. 14 shooting that killed 17 people at a high school in Parkland, Florida, Mr. Trump had initially said he would pursue raising the age limit to purchase assault rifles to 21 from 18.
But after a meeting with the powerful National Rifle Association, Mr. Trump appeared to back down from that proposal, raising questions about the influence of the N.R.A.”
-Eileen Sullivan, “No Immediate Push to Raise Minimum Age for Buying Assault Rifles, Trump Says,” The New York Times online, Mar. 12, 2018