GOP leaders in the House are preparing a legislative package aimed at bolstering school safety in reaction to the Florida high school shooting, The Hill reports. “We’re gonna do a lot on school safety,” said Rep. Steve Stivers (R-OH), chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee. He said the effort will be aimed at improving school safety, but will also include some gun-related measures. “You may see something introduced this week, but obviously you won’t see it passed this week,” he said. The legislative effort comes after President Trump called for more teachers to be armed. He has called for background check legislation, raising the age limit for purchasing assault weapons to 21 and banning bump stocks, which increase a semi-automatic weapon’s rate of fire.
The president has been focused on ending gun-free zones around schools, which he argues serve as an invitation for would-be shooters, and for arming some teachers and administrators so that they could fire back. Trump met with National Rifle Association (NRA) leaders over the weekend. He is set to meet with a bipartisan group of lawmakers on Wednesday. Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC), chairman of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, is eyeing several options, including more money for school resource officers and providing incentives to allow teachers and school administrators to carry weapons. It it is far from clear that legislation to raise the federal age limit on gun purchases could pass Congress. The NRA is solidly opposed to it, and Trump notably left it out of his comments while speaking governors at the White House. Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), who backed a bipartisan gun reform proposal after the 2012 Sandy Hook elementary school shooting, appeared skeptical of raising the age limit. “I believe we need more idiot control, not more gun control,” said GOP Sen. John Kennedy (LA).