O’Malley on Trump proposal to arm teachers: ‘I would disagree with that policy approach’
WASHINGTON — Martin O’Malley, the former Maryland governor (2007-2015) who was a 2016 Democratic presidential candidate, said President Donald Trump’s proposal to arm specially trained teachers would not make schools safer.
“I would disagree with that policy approach. I don’t think you’re going to make schools safer by putting more guns into them,” O’Malley told TMN on Monday.
O’Malley said the proposal is “probably a ruse because President Trump knows that most places would never allow” the policy to be implemented.
In a Thursday tweet Trump said the presence of armed teachers would help prevent school shootings.
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/966660169194229761
Trump doubled-down on his support for the NRA-backed proposal during a speech at the Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC) conference on Friday.
Seventeen people were killed on Feb. 14 when a gunman opened fire at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. Police charged Nikolas Cruz, 19, with 17 counts of premeditated murder.
The shooting has reignited the gun control debate and pressure is mounting on federal and state officials to take action.
Trump has said he will push for expanded background checks. He has expressed support for raising the age of eligibility for purchasing a rifle from 18 to 21 and has said bump stocks should be removed from the market.
O’Malley, when asked if raising the purchasing age would help prevent mass shootings, said: “It could,” but explained: “It’s sometimes very difficult to measure prevention.”
O’Malley said he would not rule out running for office again but explained that right now he is dedicated to helping Democrats win state and local races.
“Right now I’ve made an affirmative decision to put my shoulder into helping other people win back their own states.”
O’Malley exited the 2016 race after receiving less than one percent of the delegate count in the crucial Iowa caucus contest.
This article is republished with permission from Talk Media News
Bryan is an award-winning political journalist who has extensive experience covering Congress and Maryland state government.
His work includes coverage of the election of Donald Trump, the confirmation hearings of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and attorneys general William Barr and Jeff Sessions-as well as that of the Maryland General Assembly, Gov. Larry Hogan, and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bryan has broken stories involving athletic and sexual assault scandals with the Baltimore Post-Examiner.
His original UMBC investigation gained international attention, was featured in People Magazine and he was interviewed by ABC’s “Good Morning America” and local radio stations. Bryan broke subsequent stories documenting UMBC’s omission of a sexual assault on their daily crime log and a federal investigation related to the university’s handling of an alleged sexual assault.