Trump’s solution is armed school cops
AS Donald Trump prepares to tell his audience that armed cops in schools will stop massacres, Austin Whitehead is picking an assault rifle for his 18th birthday.
He is among thousands of gun lovers at the National Rifle Association’s annual convention in Houston, Texas – and doesn’t bat an eyelid as people pose for photos with AK-47S and scoop pick‘n’mix bullets into bags.
It’s only days since 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, who also got an assault rifle on his 18th, killed 19 children and two teachers in Uvalde, 300 miles away. But rather than put him off, Austin says it made him more determined to buy a rifle to protect his younger brothers.
“My family grew up around guns. Dad is in the military,” he explains.
“What you do with a gun depends on the person. They can be used to protect people or they can be used to kill.
“I want to have that choice. I have two little brothers and I want to protect them.”
Later, he’ll be in the crowd that hears ex-president Trump holler: “The only thing that can stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun!”
The Uvalde tragedy prompted calls for the NRA to axe its three-day convention, and key figures including folk singer Don Mclean withdrew as a mark of respect to the bereaved. But seeing the 14-acre centre reveals how determined NRA members are about bearing arms. At one stall I’m encouraged to try out an M&P Sport Series rifle – £400 and “perfect for beginners”.
At another, run by SAR USA, which imports guns from Turkey, I’m given a baseball cap and told if I like the firm’s Facebook page, I could win a weapon.
But most shocking – aside from a man wearing a “Kill a commie for mommy” T-shirt, is a stand with “ghost guns” – untraceable firearms which can be assembled at home.
Gun shop owner Diana Orr, 60, from South Carolina, tells me the Uvalde tragedy would have been avoided if the two murdered teachers – Irma Garcia, 48, and Eva Mireles, 44 – had been carrying guns.
“I absolutely think arming the teachers could have saved some lives. They could have got to him before he got the first round off.”
She fiercely rejects any suggestion that this would be a lethal proposal. “If they carry a gun, children aren’t going to go and grab it off of them,” she insists.
Outside, protesters holding signs saying “no guns” see it differently.
Local teacher Nathaniel Gomez, 35, says: “I teach 10-year-olds. I cried when I heard. You honk at somebody, you might get killed. There’s so many idiots with guns.”