Trump urges end to gun-free school zones, easier confinement of
'deranged' people
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[May 28, 2022] By
Arathy Somasekhar and Kanishka Singh
HOUSTON/WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Former
President Donald Trump on Friday argued the United States should make it
easier to confine "deranged" people and eliminate gun-free school zones
after a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers this week at a Texas
school.
"Clearly, we need to make it far easier to confine the violent and
mentally deranged into mental institutions," Trump said in a speech at a
convention in Houston of the National Rifle Association, a gun rights
advocacy group.
Tuesday's fatal shooting of 19 pupils and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas,
by an 18-year-old gunman equipped with an AR-15 style semiautomatic
rifle again focused attention on the NRA, a major donor to Congress
members, mostly Republicans.
On suggestions to improve the security of schools, Trump said every
school should have a single point of entry, strong fencing and metal
detectors, adding there should also be a police official or an armed
guard at all times in every school.
"This is not a matter of money. This is a matter of will. If the United
States has $40 billion to send to Ukraine, we can do this," he said,
referring to Washington's financial and military support for Ukraine
after Russia's invasion in February.
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![](../images/052822pix/news_q69.jpg)
A sign showing former U.S. President Donald Trump, who will be
speaking at the NRA-ILA Leadership Forum, stands posted inside the
National Rifle Association (NRA) annual convention at the George R.
Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas, U.S., May 26, 2022.
REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton
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The former U.S. president also called for eliminating
gun-free school zones, adding that such zones leave victims with no
means to defend themselves in case of an attack by an armed person.
"As the age-old saying goes, the only way to stop a bad guy with a
gun is a good guy with a gun," Trump added.
"The existence of evil is one of the very best reasons to arm
law-abiding citizens."
Video images of the main auditorium in Houston, which holds about
3,600 people, showed it to be about half-full as Trump took the
stage on Friday afternoon.
(Reporting by Reporting by Arathy Somasekhar in Houston; additional
reporting by Steve Holland in Washington; writing by Kanishka Singh;
editing by Jonathan Oatis and Cynthia Osterman)
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