Florida massacre: Donald Trump now polling Mar-a-Lago golf buddies to decide on gun policy
KEY POINTS
- Donald Trump has been against new gun controls.
- The NRA spent millions on Trump campaign ads in 2016.
It has been reported that Donald Trump has been surveying guests staying at his luxury Mar-a-Lago golf resort about the state of gun laws in the US.
In the wake of the Florida school shooting in which 17 people were killed, Trump was asking guests at his resort about their thoughts on whether gun laws should be changed.
According to the Washington Post, Trump questioned guests at his resort, which is just over 40 miles from the scene of the shooting, about the stance he should take on gun laws,
Teachers and students as young as 14 were shot dead by former Stoneman Douglas High School pupil Nikolas Cruz on the 14 February 2018.
He was arrested by police in Florida and later charged with 17 counts of murder.
Survivors from the school and activists have called on Trump to take action on current gun laws in place.
One survivor was Emma Gonzalez, who spoke to CNN about politicians taking money from gun lobbies, specifically, the NRA, she said: "If they accept this blood money, they are against the children... you're either funding the killers, or you're standing with the children."
The president is thought to have told guests that he was watching the responses of the survivors closely.
But the mass shooting, the 18th school shooting of the year, recharged the highly controversial topic of gun control laws.
The powerful National Rifle Association has refused to allow any changes to gun policy over the years, frustrating efforts by Democrats under Barack Obama to bring about reforms,
According to data from the Center for Responsive Politics, the NRA spent more than $50m during the last presidential election cycle in 2016.
From this, $14m was spent on Republican ads, the bulk for Donald Trump.
Another $34m was spent on attack ads against Democrats, primarily Hillary Clinton.
Since Donald Trump came to power in January 2017, his presidency has seen the deadliest US mass shooting of all time, the fifth deadliest and the latest in Florida being the ninth deadliest.
The deadliest being the October Las Vegas Strip shooting which saw 59 people killed at a music concert with more than 800 others injured.
And the fifth being the Sutherland Springs church shooting where 27 people died in November.
