Washington — US President Donald Trump suggested arming teachers to deter mass shootings as he faced broken voices, tears and demands for action at a meeting on Wednesday with survivors of the gun rampage that killed 17 people at a Florida high school. Trump also promised "very strong" background checks on gun owners during the poignant "listening session," in which he heard firsthand accounts from bereaved parents and friends, and schoolchildren who narrowly escaped with their own lives. But his proposal to arm educators received a cool response from a teacher who survived the shooting as well as the local sheriff at a town hall meeting in Florida. "A gun-free zone, to a maniac — because they are all cowards — a gun-free zone is ‘Let’s go in and let’s attack,’" Trump said. "If you had a teacher who was adept at firearms, they could very well end the attack very quickly," Trump said, suggesting that 20% of a school’s teachers could be trained to carry concealed weapons. "This would ...

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