New Delhi: Former US President Donald Trump rejected calls for tightened gun controls on Friday, following the mass school shooting in Texas, saying decent Americans should be allowed firearms they need to protect themselves from “evil”, news agency AFP reported.
The existence of evil in our world is not a reason to disarm law-abiding citizens… The existence of evil is one of the very best reasons to arm law-abiding citizens,” he told members of the National Rifle Association (NRA).
Trump’s remarks came during an NRA event in Houston, three days after a gun massacre in an elementary school in Texas that killed 19 children and reignited the debate on gun laws in the country.
“The various gun control policies being pushed by the left would have done nothing to prevent the horror that took place. Absolutely nothing,” Trump said.
On Tuesday, an 18-year-old gunman armed with an AR-15-style rifle opened fire at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas leaving 19 children dead. As per AFP, this was the deadliest school attack in American history.
Trump read out the names of all the 19 children during his address and called them victims of an out-of-control “lunatic”. He then suggested that gun control efforts were “grotesque”.
“All of us must unite, Republican and Democrat — in every state, and at every level of government — to finally harden our schools and protect our children… What we need now is a top-to-bottom security overhaul at schools across this country,” he added.
Multiple speakers pulled out of the NRA event following the mass shooting, but Trump asserted on Wednesday that he would attend the NRA’s annual “Leadership Forum.”