Press TV - The administration of US President Donald Trump says it will increase aid to states that want to arm school employees following last months massacre of 17 people at a high school in Florida.
US Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said Sunday that arming school staff is part of a "pragmatic plan to dramatically increase school safety.
But the controversial idea to put weapons in schools has drawn little support from educators.
We are committed to working quickly because there's no time to waste," DeVos said in a conference call with reporters.
The Trump administration will also provide technical assistance to states preparing temporary "risk protection orders" that allow for guns to be removed from certain individuals, said Andrew Bremberg, a presidential assistant who heads the Domestic Policy Council at the White House.
The White House is urging Congress to pass legislation that will strengthen background checks for gun buyers and implement violence prevention programs.
The measures come during a reignited national debate on gun violence that was revived by survivors of last month's massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, where a former student with a semi-automatic rifle gunned down 14 students and three staff.
The United States loses around 33,000 people to gun violence every year.
On Friday, Florida Governor Rick Scott signed into law a gun control bill that was passed by the states legislature. The new law raises the minimum age to purchase a firearm from 18 to 21 and extends the waiting period to three days, a dramatic turnaround in one of the most gun-friendly states in America.
The National Rifle Association (NRA), the nations powerful gun lobby, immediately filed a lawsuit at a US federal court in Florida after the gun control bill was signed into law, arguing that it violates the US Constitution.
The NRA has become the focus of a growing movement by activists who are demanding that US politicians stop accepting political donations from the gun lobby.
Trump was endorsed by the NRA in his 2016 presidential election campaign. The president and his fellow Republicans in Congress strongly support Americans constitutional right to own guns.
