President Donald Trump on Thursday reflected on the prior day's bipartisan White House meeting on gun-control measures, noting that background check reform was a focus of the conversation but that Congress should "respect" the Second Amendment.
"Many ideas, some good & some not so good, emerged from our bipartisan meeting on school safety yesterday at the White House," Trump tweeted." Background Checks a big part of conversation. Gun free zones are proven targets of killers. After many years, a Bill should emerge. Respect 2nd Amendment!"
Many ideas, some good & some not so good, emerged from our bipartisan meeting on school safety yesterday at the White House. Background Checks a big part of conversation. Gun free zones are proven targets of killers. After many years, a Bill should emerge. Respect 2nd Amendment!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 1, 2018
Trump vocally supported the policy of confiscating guns from certain individuals who are deemed dangerous, even if such action violates due process rights.
"I like taking the guns early, like in this crazy man’s case that just took place in Florida ... to go to court would have taken a long time," Trump said.
"Take the guns first, go through due process second," Trump added.
The National Rifle Association (NRA) pushed back against Trump's comments and said it did not support the new gun control measures that were proposed by Trump and Democratic lawmakers.
"While today’s meeting made for great TV, the gun-control proposals discussed would make for bad policy that would not keep our children safe," Jennifer Baker, a spokesperson for the NRA's Institute for Legislative Action, told the Washington Free Beacon. "Instead of punishing law-abiding gun owners for the acts of a deranged lunatic, our leaders should pass meaningful reforms that would actually prevent future tragedies."