Following back-to-back mass shootings in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio, on Aug. 3 and 4, President Donald Trump has been fielding significant criticism on the issue of gun control. In an Aug. 5 speech addressing the shootings, Trump proposed several ideas to combat gun violence, ranging from cracking down on violent video games to implementing "red flag" laws, which would allow law enforcement officials to confiscate firearms from people deemed potentially dangerous. The president also suggested passing legislation that combines background checks and immigration reform. Unsurprisingly, Donald Trump's quotes about gun control, both this past week and in the last several years, have faced significant backlash. Let's take a look at some of the things he's said.
Over the course of his 2016 presidential campaign, Trump made many broad promises about guns. He claimed that he would "get rid of gun-free zones" in schools on his first day in office, and that he was proud to have the NRA's endorsement. According to fact-checking organization PolitiFact, there have been at least 20 mass shootings since Trump took office, compared to at least 41 mass shootings over the course of Barack Obama's eight years in the White House. Trump has been president for two and a half years, which means that there have an average of eight mass shootings per year under his administration.
Despite this uptick in mass shootings, Trump has spent more time criticizing the media and Democratic lawmakers than he has calling for more stringent gun control measures. Below are some of the more controversial statements Trump has made on gun control and gun violence.
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