President Trump on February 22, 2018 the second year of his first term hosted a listening session discussion at the White House on the critical issue of firearms violence. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos attended.Also attending were several surviving students and parents of deceased students from the tragic shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, which occurred in Parkland, Florida on February 14, 2018 and killed 17 people and injured another 18. Related I Call BS on VP JD: The US wasnt founded as a Christian nation Immediately after learning of the shooting, President Trump publicly offered his prayers and condolences to the victims families, writing, No child, teacher, or anyone else should ever feel unsafe in an American school. Two days later, he and First Lady Melania Trump flew on Air Force One to the site of the tragedy, where they spoke. They also visited the hospital where eight of the injured had been admitted.Opening the White House listening session, Trump asked participants for suggestions on how to make our countrys schools safer in the future. One student asked for more active shooter trainings as well as a more coordinated response by agencies and individuals. Dive deeper every day Join our newsletter for thought-provoking commentary that goes beyond the surface of LGBTQ+ issues Subscribe to our Newsletter today In a poignant and emotional comment, another student expressed, I was born into a world where I have never experienced safety and peace. Other students nodded in agreement.The Trump administrations assault on firearms safety and violence prevention has weakened the countrys overall public safety. A parent who lost his daughter shouted in rage toward the president, There should have been one shooting and we should have fixed it! And Im p**sed. My child isnt here. Shes in North Lauderdale at King David Cemetery!During the session, Trump said he would ask Congress to strengthen background checks on firearms purchases and to raise the gun-purchasing age to 21. He also proposed arming teachers, saying, If you had a teacher who is adept at firearms, they could very well end the attack very quickly.Trumps plan included arming up to 20% of the teachers to stop maniacs from attacking students. The following day, he called a gun-free school a magnet for criminals and tweeted, Highly trained, gun adept, teachers/coaches would solve the problem instantly, before police arrive.A photo illustration of a classroom lecturer holding a gun in his hand. | Shutterstock Over the past several decades since the 1990s, gun violence has increased exponentially. Presidents from Clinton to Bush, Obama, and Biden have stepped up by showing our country their compassion and empathy for the victims, their families, friends, and for a frightened nation that demands an end to these senseless deaths and injuries that weaken our entire body politic.While Trump did suggest a few policy changes to improve school safety and mental health community resources, he is not particularly known for his consoler-in-chief skills, unlike , for example, Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and before them Presidents Franklin Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan.Close-up pictures of Donald Trump at the session revealed a handwritten cheat sheet written in bold black letters and printed on official White House stationery, which he carried into the room listing five points to cover and the precise language to use.President Trump issued an executive order, Protecting Second Amendment Rights, which targeted All Presidential and agencies actions to end past policies aimed at lowering gun crime and improving safety policies.First on the list was a reminder to ask, What would you most want me to know about your experience? The list also had a note asking participants for ideas on resources needed to curb gun violence.Two scripted responses on the list in particular I hear you and What can we do to help you feel safe? triggered themost outrage by political pundits and many others throughout the U.S. because it showed Trumps absolute inability to express sympathy to thosemost needing support and comfort during a traumatic time.His suggestion to arm 20% of school personnel also prompted outrage over concerns that educators are already saddled with too many mandated responsibilities with so few resources to adequately fulfill their duties, and because the idea of bringing gunsintoschools could easily give rise to even more fatalities and injuries.While President Trump issued an executive order banning bump stocks in 2017 following the mass shooting at an outdoor country music festival in Las Vegas the Supreme Court struck it down as unconstitutional by a vote of 6-3 in June 2024, under the Biden administration. Thoughts & Prayers are all Trump & congressional Republicans offerPro-Trump protester with Christian cross seen during the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol | ShutterstockWhile running for the Republican Partys presidential nomination in 2016, Donald Trump made a radical claim. At a campaign rally, he talked about his overwhelming popular support, saying, I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldnt lose any voters, OK? Its, like, incredible.During his candidacy and time in the Oval Office, no reports have yet surfaced proving that Trump has literally pointed a firearm and shot a bullet into anything, let alone another person. Figuratively, however, his policies by intent and omission have substantially contributed to the countrys clear, present, and deadly epidemic of gun violence.The Trump administrations assault on firearms safety and violence prevention has weakened the countrys overall public safety. According toEverytown, an advocacy organization for gun safety, law enforcement officials now have fewer means of solving gun crimes. It is now legal to attach gun accessories that convert firearms into machine guns. In addition, firearms suppliers are legally protected from prosecution rather than being held accountable for gun crimes.Trump, in 2017, proposed cutting 16% (accounting for millions of dollars) from the National Criminal Records History Improvement Program and theNational Instant Criminal Background Check System Acts Record Improvement Program. These programs give states federal grants to improve reporting to the national background-check database. Everytownhas listed many of gun safety rollbacks enacted under both Trump administrations:They have shut down the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, which had been tasked with coordinating the federal governments response to gun crime and gun violence.President Trump issued an executive order, Protecting Second Amendment Rights, which targeted All Presidential and agencies actions to end past policies aimed at lowering gun crime and improving safety policies. They repealed the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Zero Tolerance policy, which revoked the licenses of gun dealers who knowingly violated federal law. This action has, thereby, reduced oversight and accountability.They created a Second Amendment Task Force to advance the gun lobbys guns everywhere goal to place more guns into the hands of more people in more places.The Trump administration cut grant funding for domestic violence prevention organizations and community-based violence intervention programs. In addition, they terminated Department of Education grants equaling $1 billion for student mental health support. The administration settled a case brought by the National Association for Gun Rights challenging the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives previous policy that bannedforced-reset triggers. The settlement allows the sale of these devices which automatically return forward (or reset) after being pulled. This action, thereby, enables semi-automatic firearms to function as fully automatic illegal machine guns.The Trump administration and Republican Congressional so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act made some of the most dangerous and highly regulated weapons less expensive and easier to access. These items include silencers, short-barreled rifles and shotguns, and other easily concealable firearms.Today in the United States, there are approximately 120 firearms per 100 people. Our country ranks high when compared with 22 other wealthy industrialized nations in per capita gun-related deaths, with 4.054 per 100,000 residents compared with, for example, the United Kingdom at 0.047, Japan at 0.003, Germany at 0.065, Indonesia at 0.08, and Oman at 0.066. A study byThe American Journal of Medicinefound that though the U.S. has half the population of the other 22 nations combined, it accounted for 82% of all gun deaths and90% of all women killed by firearms worldwide. Also, 91% of youth under the age of 14 who died by gun violence, and 92% of young people between ages 15 and 24 who were killed by guns both lived in the United States.New and longtime gun safety advocates have been calling for and pleading with lawmakers across the country to pass common-sense regulations on the manufacture, purchase, and ownership of firearms. In numerous instances, local, state, and national legislators have heeded the call by paradoxically and callously making iteasierfor people to get their hands on these dangerous weapons of mass destruction.Recently, a male shooter killed two Brown University students and seriously injured another nine. He then traveled north to Brookline, Massachusetts where he killed a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The shooters reign of terror sent shock waves throughout the nation, especially within the communities of Providence, Rhode Island and Boston, Massachusetts. President Donald Trump, in his supposed war on drug traffickers, has initiated lethal strikes on small boats operated by alleged drug smugglers in the Caribbean without showing any evidence or providing due process under U.S. and international law.On the other hand, President Trump has either loosened or eliminated firearms safety policies and government agencies, all while reputable studies confirm that making firearms more accessible increases gun deaths and worsens public health in our country.Our nation and its leaders must stop this insanity of doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results and Donald Trump must be held accountable for his complicity.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.