supporters this morning. president trump proposed giving bonuses to teachers. give teachers guns, he says. the nra likes that, but doesn't like the president's plan to raise the age level to buy a gun. the nra is focusing most of its eyre and political power on the fbi and media. i want to bring in cnn political analyst john avlon and cnn's chris cillizza. john avlon, what we see with the news overnight that the deputy sat outside that building for several minutes without acting, it shows the level of the systemic failure here all the way up to the very end. >> it shows the level of the systemic failure. i think it also shows the fallacy of believing that more armed officers at schools will inherently solve the problem. you can write this off to a failure of nerve, lack of

courage on the part of this individual. the fact is there was a prototypical good guy with a gun at the school while the shooting was occurring and he did not stop it. given the fact that the president is frontloading this -- >> i believe the sheriff's office down there announced they would be having more deputies now in light of this in all of the schools. some of these things are unknowable. if there are with two armed deputies, would that have stopped him? i don't know. if there were ten, would that have stopped him? in columbine there are two. if there were a solution to this, we would have figured it out already. >> i think you've hit it, which is that, if this was easily solved, we would have solved it after columbine. it's not easily solved. if we could simply figure out, well, what is the profile of the kind of person who is not just

depressed or violent toward animals, but is also willing to do this sort of thing, we would have solved it. i think john makes a really good point here. if the simple solution was wayne lapierre's often repeated, the only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun, this would have been stopped. the point is there's human nature. there's the moment, there's bravely, there's courage, there's a lack thereof. so many circumstances which is why i think casting -- there will be no legislative solution that absolutely 100% eliminates school shootings. >> that doesn't mean we can't do anything. >> exactly, exactly. >> we should. >> this isn't an issue of this being easily solved. the question is, can you take some actions that will make things better? >> you're never going to, john -- to your point, you're never going to know that this

guy who is in the school for the purposes of keeping it safe, that this guy is -- whatever happened, lost his nerve, whatever, is going to go outside and stand there for four minutes. it's impossible. >> we're not talking about the perfectibility of human nature here. we're not talking about -- let's not be naive. but let's keep focused on this fact, that our nation is the only one on earth where this happens on a regular basis. that indicates that progress is imminently possible. there's the australian example. there are others. we have unique constitutional things we need to keep in mind as a country. it's not about demonizing guns. the idea that the solution to more violence in schools is more guns seems self-evidently wrong. >> you can have both discussions at once. i think if the president wants to talk about should schools be hardened, could you maybe have another armed security guard there, should there be checkpoints? sure.

if that discussion is happening in the absence of also talking about raising the minimum age to buy a gun to 21 which the president wants to do, the nra doesn't want to do. maybe banning bump stocks which the president wants to do in a regulatory way, you can do that, too. chris, do you think this discussion on arming teachers will divert politically from the other discussions? >> i think what happens oftentimes when we talk about guns and what role -- what role legislation can or should play is it winds up, and i do think the nra has been quite successful in this. it winds up being an all-or-nothing conversation. if you do anything, even things like universal background checks that 97% of people support, it's a step in the direction of the confiscation of firearms -- >> it's further. you hate freedom. wayne la pre air said you hate individual freedom.

>> this is the problem with it. we have to be careful of getting into something in which there is a sole focus on this one thing, because we know from the past that that -- whether it's arming teachers, whether it's raising the age, talking an assault weapons ban which seems unlikely at this point. we know any fixation on one solution winds up not working. i think what you have to say is, look, there is a wide universe of things that people suggest. what are the three things that donald trump wants to prioritize and that we think we can get done. >> you used two words there, that really could focus this, there's one person who could focus this discussion and move it forward. it's the president of the united states. he has political capital with the people who count to focus this discussion. if he wants change on some of these things he's talking about, the minimum age to buy a gun, he could get it. get it in two weeks. same with bump stocks.

what he needs to do, however, is get more focused than he is right now. he talks about background checks. he says we need better background checks. what does that mean? we need to know what that means. >> it does require presidential leadership and focus, that's not a strong point. the end of yesterday he was musing about changing movie ratings. the president has unique political capital with the house of representatives. we need to get away from this all-or-nothing idea because it feeds into the fear mongering idea that any effort -- we need to take some progress. democrats will realize they won't get everything they want. will the president lead on the things that there's a 97% consensus on. if 3% can block progress on this, there's something even more seriously wrong with our politics than we thought. >> it will be interesting to see what the president says at cpac because he has broken with some of the nra doctrine in terms of the things john was talking

about, raising the minimum age of purchase. yet yesterday he also seemed to be parroting many of their talking points almost sentence for sentence. i believe we have an example of the nra talking and the president talking. watch this juxtaposition. >> it should not be easier for a madman to shoot up a school than a bank or a jewelry store or some hollywood gala. >> i want my schools protected just like my banks are protected. >> we must immediately harden our schools. >> we have to harden our schools, not soften them up. >> we drop our kids off at school that are so-called gun-free zones that are wide open targets for any crazy mad man bent on evil to come there first. >> a gun-free zone to a killer or somebody that wants to be a

killer, that's like going in for the ice cream. that's like, here i am, take me. >> chris cillizza, that's why we have to pay very close attention in a couple hours to cpac to see where he lands on this. >> john mentioned, he's not a big details guy. we saw that with immigration. on a tuesday he's for comprehensive immigration reform. by thursday it's off. he's neither a big details guy, nor sort of what he says on one day is terribly predictive of what he means or says the next day. the other thing is, cpac is the reddest of red meat of conservative audiences. donald trump is someone who plays to the crowd. he is at least part entertainer. you can argue how big a part entertainer. but i wonder how much he adheres to whatever written remarks he has and how much he freelances because he likes to hear the applau applause, and the way you get applause there is to go over the top in attacks on democrats, the

media, liberalism, more broadly speaking. it is not typically the place where you give a reasoned argument for at least the conversation about what most people would describe as common sense gun reform. >> aside from being the star wars part of the conservative movement, this is a place that said mitt romney was not welcome, but marin lap pen is welcome with open arms. don't hold your breath. >> star wars -- >> that the is not my line originally. >> chris cillizza, thank you. listen to this. "the new york times" reports some survivors of last webbing's shooting were not impressed by their interactions with president trump in the tragedy's aftermath, but some were. they have diametrically opposed impressions of that. joining us is julie hirschfeld

davis, a white house reporter for "the new york times." thanks so much for being here. you talked to survivors. i have as well. everybody has their own impression of what they think of the president as a leader during this time and as a consoler. so tell us about some of the kind of polar extremes you found. >> it seems to me like a lot of people's interpretations of their interactions with the president are founded on whatever their pre-existing opinion of him was. i spoke with andrew pollack, the father of meadow pollack killed last week who clearly went into the meeting. he had a private meeting with president trump in the oval office earlier this week and he went into it as a big supporter of the president and felt very much like he was comforted and consoled by the visit, like president trump went out of his way to be kind. >> let me read his quote. he showed us nothing but love. the guy really cared, you know.

he flew us in. he had a bus waiting for us. he made time tore us. he took pictures of my daughter that he brought. he said he was going to look at it every day. he's a regular guy. i wouldn't have been there if i didn't think he cared. >> right. so he clearly felt a lot of support, a lot of empathy from the president. my colleague also spoke with one of the survivors of the shooting who was in the hospital last week when she got a phone call from president trump who was very turned off by it. the first thing he said to her, she says, i heard you're a big fan of mine. she said she thought he probably made that up. seemed reminiscent of the call he made to the widow of one of the soldiers killed in niger last year who said she had been turned off by the president because he didn't seem to know her husband's name and made a comment about he knew what he signed up for. it's clear that president trump is not the most comfortable in these situations, having a conversation with someone

traumatized, lost a loved one or been through something horrific. he grasped for words. his aides say he's trying to con say empathy, not that he's being callous. he has fed into this challenge in conveying empathy in the wake of tragedies. you remember the pictures of him tossing paper towels to the storm victims in puerto rico when he went down to visit. he's made insensitive comments on fwittwitter in the aftermath these tragedies. >> in this case, julie, he went in with that note card, basically reminding him to empathize. the last point on that note card said i hear you. one of the survivors you spoke with in your article, sam zeif, this bugged him. >> absolutely. it's not uncommon for presidents to go into any event with a note card, talking points, reminders,

biographical data, here is what you'll be speaking to, the facts and figures on the issues you'll be talking about. it's surprising the president isn't self aware snuff to hide it. what struck people about the card is what was written on it, the fact it underscored the notion that he has to be reminded to show some sort of human compassion or empathy. sam zeif said he spoke from the heart in that meeting and everything he said was from his heart and hiss head. he felt the president was less than sincere when he saw he was holding that note. >> listen, whatever the president's personal failing are in this situation, i think we should give credit for that listening session. that was an extraordinary moment in the white house. people who were there got to say whatever they wanted, and it was sort of an open forum and people expressed grief and anger and suggestions, and it was just -- it seemed leak an open exchange of ideas and it was really

powerful to watch. >> absolutely. president trump didn't actual parrot the talking points on that card. he did speak from the heart. it took him a little while. he was very quiet at first and let vice president pence kick off the session and make the broad, the nation is grieving with you statement. but by the end he really said i grieve with you. he seemed to be emotional, very impacted by what he had heard. the white house -- this was a deliberate tactic by the white house. they wanted the public to see the president interacting with the survivors and these mourning parents and teachers. they did get to see that. i think maybe they learned a lesson about how to allow the president to convey empathy where in the past he hasn't been able to. >> julie hirschfeld davis, thank you very much. we should let everyone know i will speak with nra spokeswoman dana loesch about the gun control debate and their suggestions. cnn learned that when president trump addresses cpac in about two hours he's expected

to announce the treasury department will impose new sanctions against north korea. according to a person familiar with the matter the sanctions will affect vessels and shipping. the announcement comes as the president's daughter, ivanka trump is in south korea as part of the u.s. delegation attending the closing ceremony of the winter olympics. the president just wrote my daughter has arrived in south korea. they could not have a better or smarter person representing our country, he says. >> there you go. meanwhile congressman adam schiff says the democratic memo that rebutts the claims of fbi misconduct would be released this week. well, it's friday. >> it's this week. >> tick tock. where is it? we have a congress on the house intel committee joining us live next.

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♪you built the flame ♪that warms my heart, ♪but lying and cheating ♪has torn us apart ♪and i'm moving on. the white house says it will support the release of the democratic memo drafted to rebut the previously released nunes memo that alleged surveillance abuses by the fbi. >> once it meets the fbi's standards for ensuring that law enforcement sensitive sources and methods are protected, we would support its release. >> joining us is democratic congressman mike quigley who was on the house intelligence committee. thanks for being with us. adam schiff says the memo would be released this week. he's running out of time. will it be released to day? >> hope springs eternal. i think it's easy to compare the two.

the memo that the president says completely vindicates him was released with almost no scrutiny, a memo i think he coordinated with chairman nunes to put out. the memo that rebutts that memo, the memo that bolsters the integrity of this investigation, well, we're still waiting. >> but it's in your hands, right? adam schiff is in coordination with law enforcement to decide. do you have any information about whether it will be released today or when it will come out? >> i don't know that it's in our hands. again, let's compare. their memo they released with almost no scrutiny. we wanted our memo to work with the fbi and justice department to make sure they were comfortable with its release. if the white house wanted it to be released, they could have helped. it would be out by now. i will believe it when i see it. >> you're absolutely right. if the white house wanted it to be out, it could be out by now. as far as, have the changes been made that were asked for perhaps

by the fbi and others. >> i believe they're still in negotiations and discussions. >> let's move on to the issue of the day and in some ways the issue of our time which is to keep our kids safe in school. we heard the head of the nra wayne lapierre say that one of the reasons this is happening is because of the european-style socialists, democrats he's saying, who have been in office for a while. >> in the midst of genuine grief and a very understandable passion, as millions of americans search for meaningful solutions, what do we find? chris murphy, nancy pelosi and more, cheered on by the national media eager to blame the nra and call for even more government control. they hate the nra.

they hate the second amendment. they made individual freedom. >> do you hate individual freedom? >> absolutely not. let's just remember that wayne apparently will say whatever it takes to keep those membership dollars coming in. under the obama administration, he was the one that said the president is coming after you, he's coming to get your guns. before his term is over, he's going to change everything and they'll come in black helicopters and get your weapons. he will do whatever it takes. they will manipulate this and as a result people die. the fact is the majority of nra members favor universal background checks. the nra won't get behind that. they don't even support the common sense measures that nra members support. i was at the supreme court when the chicago gun case was ruled on. if you actually read that

justice's opinion, he said, while there is a second amendment right, it is not unlimited. like every other right, you can't have any kind of gun you want anywhere you want and not everyone can have that gun. i think the nra has failed to read his opinion. the person who had an assault weapon in florida and in sandy hook with the kind of bullets they were using, they weren't protecting anyone's home. they weren't hunting deer. they were hunting people. there's a way to solve this. part of it is recognizing what those limits are and recognizing it for what it is, a public health issue. >> the idea that anyone in this discussion hates freedom is certainly not helpful. you brought up president obama in wayne lapierre's opposition to this, there is an element of this, president obama was in office for two full years when democrats held the house and

senate. there were 13 democrats in the senate who voted against it because they thought it would hurt them politically. so do democrats need to do more here? >> i think everyone nodes to do more. i think they need the intestinal fortitude to think those krarj votes. president obama had majority in for two years, repealed don't ask don't tell, passed the health care bill, repealed don't ask don't tell. quite simply, you can't get it all done in two years. after we lost the majority it was going to be extraordinarily difficult to accomplish anything else. >> how do you feel about what the president is proposing in arming teachers? he says maybe give 20% of well trained teachers bonuses if they're willing to carry concealed firearms. is that something that could be helpful? >> it's ludicrous. he doesn't understand the core problem here. let's also remember some

history. ft. hood, the naval yards, a lot of these mass shootings took place where there are a hell of a lot of guns. it didn't save lives. there are some limits to the second amendment. when we get back next week in congress, i predict my republican colleagues will spring into action and have a moment of silence and talk about thoughts and prayers. >> congressman mike quickly, let's hope there is more than that. let's hope there is some action. the president seems will, will he push the house leadership? that remains to be seen. mike quigley, thanks for being with us. >> thank you. yesterday the national rifle association attacked law enforcement, democrats and the media all in the aftermath of the florida school massacre. >> crying white mothers are ratings gold to you, many of the legacy media in the back.

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the nra went on the offensive at cpac blaming the fbi for the massacre in parkland and also the media. >> many in legacy media love mass shootings. you guys love it. now, i'm not saying that you love the tragedy, but i am saying that you love the ratings. crying white mothers are ratings gold to you, many in the legacy media in the back. >> here to discuss that and more is dana loesch, the nra's national spokesperson. dana, before we start, i do want to once again tell you how much we appreciated you coming to the cnn town hall. we know you didn't have to do that, and we appreciate you accepting that invitation and being there for that really important conversation.

>> alisyn, thank you for having me this morning. i went to that -- i knew it wasn't going to be easy and i went back i wanted to offer solutions. i'm also outraged about all of this. i'm also a parent, and i'm very concerned with the way that protocol when conducting red flag checks and processing all of that, i'm concerned about all of that. that's why i want to get to the bottom of it. i want to offer solutions and see how we can partner together to stop it. that's why i showed up and that's why i wanted to hear. >> okay, great. let's get to that. let's start with the sound bite we just played of you at cpac. you say many in the media love mass shootings, you guys love it, you love the ratings, crying white mothers are ratings gold to you. so dana, why would you say -- why would you make a statement like that? >> because it's true. >> you think we love mass

shootings? >> i said many, not all. >> who, who loves mass shootings? >> many in the media do because they like the ratings aspect of it, and it's true because it's wall-to-wall coverage. they put the murderer's face up on loop, on televisions all across america more than they discuss the victims or survivors. that individual's name has been mentioned and is still mentioned on your network. alisyn, i want to say something really quickly. i think jake tapper did an admirable job. i think he ultimately lost control. i have a lot of respect for jake. i think it was a tough spot he was in also, but i do think maybe perhaps the way the network was hosting this discussion, it didn't seem that the network perhaps intended for it to be geared towards discussing solutions. i get it, emotions are high. it's awful. barely a week ago, but i really want to have that discussion as

to what we can do to stop this in the future. >> of course. that's why we had the town hall. that's why we had lawmakers there, so that the kids could pose questions directly to them. dana, it's just malicious actually that you would say that. i don't know anybody in the media who likes mass shootings, you're wrong on every single level. we pray that there's never another one. the idea of them being ratings gold -- hold on, dana. you just made a malicious statement. i have to respond. guess what, they're not ratings gold. americans have reached saturation level. they're so sick of it. >> i hope they have. >> it's so heartbreaking that they actually often turn away and we still have the conversation trying to find solutions. >> you're saying that it's malicious. >> it is. >> you're saying it's malicious, yet on your network you've allowed accusations against me and millions of law abiding americans to be indicted as child murderers.

>> we've never said that, dana. >> you allowed it to stand uncorrected on your network. >> that's not true, dana. >> i don't want to -- >> we have to be facts-based. >> you've allowed the accusations to stand, alisyn. please follow what i'm saying. >> i don't believe you. i don't believe you. >> you've done nothing to correct it. that's malicious. >> dana, you know -- i will make my statement and then you can respond. you know you're using heated rhetoric, inflammatory rhetoric, how is that part of the solution? >> you've allowed millions of -- >> answer my question. you've used that inflammatory rhetoric. why do you use it at cpac, why are you doing that? >> because it's true, alisyn. >> we love mass shootings? it's not true.

>> the way many in the media have covered this -- >> that's not true. how dare you. >> where has been the wall to wall coverage about how 7 million prohibited possess sores could go out and get a firearm. did you know 7 million right now can go out and get a firearm, including those adjudicated mentally unfit? do you know why that is? that's scary. i want to stop that. i want to fix it. politicians could do it today. >> that's why we invited -- >> let me finish this. this is huge. >> this is why we invited the lawmakers. go ahead. >> politicians need to right now call for states to fully submit all convictions to the national crime information center. that is when -- when you go to purchase a firearm, your 4473 runs through the nix system that pulls that data from the ncic. right now 38 states submit less than 80% of records. that means, do the math, 7

million prohibited possess sores out there right now. we could stop that right now. we've been calling for it at the nra for over 25 years. >> fantastic. let me get a word in. >> i hope your network grills them on that. >> listen, we're open to all suggestions, great suggestion. there's lots of blame to go around. but i think you have to take some responsibility that when you go to cpac and gin them up against the media by claiming we love mass shootings and kids being killed, you need to take some responsibility that that's not a helpful conversation. >> well, you guys should probably maybe perhaps take some responsibility in the handling and coverage of the matter and don't allow accusations against millions of americans as child murderers to stand uncorrected on your network. that's also inflammatory. >> that's not true. we don't use that kind of language. >> my job -- i'm not in the fbi and not in law enforcement, but i'm going to tell you, alisyn, someone is going to look like a

school shooter if they tell publicly on social media people that they're going to shoot up a school, if they send their classmates messages that they're going to kill them, that they're going to shoot them. >> we've been talking about this. >> did you know under florida state law that's a felony and that individual could have been taken into custody right then and there. why wasn't that done? >> i get that. we're talking about all this. >> why did no one ask the sheriff of broward county that. i'm a parent. these agencies promised to keep our kids safe. they haven't. that's why i want answers, too. i hope you join me in questioning them. >> that's what we're doing. of course that's what we're doing and there's blame to go around. it gets upsetting and unsettling when we see you at the town hall and you're expressing sympathy with the kids and you're talking from a position of being a mom -- >> of course. >> -- and then the next day we hear you saying that we like mass shootings. so let's just remind people --

>> these are two separate issues. i am frustrated with the media and frustrated with how some at your network have handled this. >> you need to either give exact examples without hiyperbole. >> i just did. you have allowed repeatedly. i saw it less than two days ago. >> it's not true. >> allowed accusations that nra members have complicit in this. >> listen, nra members -- you have to let me get a word in. the nra does bear responsibility in terms of fixing this solution. >> no, we absolutely do not. we're parents, too. we want to be able to make sure our kids are also -- >> of course you do. you have a stake in this and you have to come up with solutions. you can say it's not our responsibility -- you're also saying -- so interesting that you guys want to talk about all

sorts of things. you talk about the mistakes at the fbi, happy to talk about mental health. when it comes to gun violence, you don't want to talk about guns. >> we always do, in fact. we have the school shield program. we're in schools, have been encouraged to adopt steps to keep them safer and make sure children feel safe. we've trained law enforcement officers. no other organization has trained more law enforcement officers across the country than the nra, thousands across the country. we have members in the broward county sheriff's department, by the way. >> why in this entire conversation have i never heard you mention the point of purchase, that the seller of the gun should not have allowed this depressed and antisocial 19-year-old to develop an arsenal, to build an arsenal. why don't we talk about the seller? >> alisyn, you and i agree 100% that this murderer should never have been able to purchase a firearm. >> that's good.

can we make changes at the point of purchase, for the sul her? >> this is what i'm talking about. i want to go back to this again, and i promise you, alisyn, this is where it starts. point of purchase. 7 million prohibited possess sores right now will pass a background check, if they went out and purchased a firearm today, they'd pass it because their records are not submitted into the national crime information center. this is why i have been so loudly, particularly this past week, calling on politicians along with millions of members of the nra, they have to change this. they could do this tomorrow. that right there is a point of sale that you're talking about right now. that's why it's important. 38 states submit less than 80% of these convictions, and there are ten categories of prohibited possessi

possession. >> great point. i want to ask you about a couple other points. is it true that the nra will not consider raising the minimum age of purchasing a rifle? >> yes, that's true. >> and why not? >> well, because raising -- first off, let me put it like this, the murderer in sutherland springs stopped by an nra member was 27 years old. raising the age is not going to solve psychosis. and i also look at it like this, when i lived on my own, alisyn, i was 20 years old. i did not live at home with my parents. i was a young woman. that's a weird spot for a lot of young adults, transitions from living with their parents, going to college, being on their own. >> of course. >> i have had friends who have experienced pretty horrible things, some pretty brutal things and survived. and i know that they and i would never want them to be without the ability to defend

themselves. >> i like this point. i like this point. you want young women to be able to defend themselves. did you need an ar-15? >> yeah, i had several rifles, in fact. the first i ever purchased in terms of long guns was a shotgun. i ended up getting an ar-15. in fact, that's the most popular home defense rifle for women in the united states of america. i don't want anyone to have their right to be able to defend themselves denied. they're adults at 20 years old. i want them to be able to protect themselves. furthermore, we or asking men and women to go and serve their country, we will give them a firearm when they go to a theater of war but not let them defend themselves at home? one last quick point on that, alisyn, there are a lot of really awesome law abiding young men and women and that's their grocery store, they like to fill their freezer -- you're penalizing all of those individuals. >> you know the argument.

hold on, hold on. >> law abiding americans. >> most gun owners, there's something like, i don't know, 270 million guns in this country. obviously most gun owners are incredibly conscientious people. we've also heard no self-respecting hunter needs an ar-15. that's a weapon of war and designed for maximum kill. >> i haven't heard that from anyone who has one. we could have this discussion all day long. ultimately what i think a lot of individuals are talking about is banning all semi-automatic rifles. i think that ultimately is what the whole point of that conversation is and what the age restriction increase -- that seems to be where the discussion was going. >> i think this is the problem, is that you guys jump to the slippery slope argument. instead of just saying -- hold on. maybe depressed 19-year-old young men shouldn't be able to get an arsenal including an ar-15. and you guys say you're going to

confiscate everything, do away with the second amendment. also not helpful. >> first off, most crimes are actually committed with handguns and you can look at the fbi uniform crime reports. it's barely 3% of homicides -- >> understood. but this seems to be the choice of school shooters. >> the ar-15 is just a rifle and what makes it different is the color of it and what makes it different is the accessories it has on it. i get it. somehow it has become the weapon of choice. >> the firearm didn't walk itself into school. i want to go back to the point of prevention. you and i talked a moment ago about point of sale. i think it's important to note this individual -- the parents of this individual had made reports to law enforcement saying he had threatened other people with a gun before. >> we get it. >> he had access to guns. why was nothing done about that, alisyn? that's what i want to know. i want to know where those

headlines are. why was nothing done about that? why did he still have access even though law enforcement knew he had access. >> this is what we or looking into. the signals and the red flags were relentless, but i do want to ask a couple of things. it does seem the nra -- if there's a consensus right now and if this is the moment for some change, i want to ask about a couple of things that the nra seems to be outside the mainstream. bump stocks, why not ban them? >> the nra called before the president said anything, before attorney general jeff sessions was ever called to review it, they said something that -- they made the announcement, nra came out, wayne lapierre came out and said the atf needs to look at the definition of this. this is their wheelhouse. >> you could take the position, you would say we don't need to turn a semi-automatic into an automatic. you could take a position and say let's ban them. >> if you're talking strictly

about bump stocks or anything else, look, the nra made their position on bump stocks incredibly clear. >> they want them banned? >> that doesn't have anything to do with parkland. >> the nra is not going to call for anything to be banned. they're calling for the atf to do their job. that's what they're supposed to do. that's what attorney general jeff sessions has called for as well. remember, this was immediately right after the las vegas tragedy. this is one of the things the nra called for. >> dana loesch, we appreciate you being here for this conversation. obviously everybody has to be at the table, and it is helpful to have a reasonable conversation without heated rhetoric. >> and i think this was a good conversation right here, alisyn. thank you for that. >> thank you for being here. okay. john. >> it's very interesting, in the middle of all that, having dana have to answer. joining us, cnn political

commentator van jones is here. what did you make of all that? >> well, for me there's a tribalism that has made it very difficult to have these kind of conversations. the nra used to be a reasonable organization. they used to really not have a knee-jerk -- he said we're not going to call for the bang of anything. you wouldn't call for the banning of bazookas, hand grenades. they've taken the absolutist position that they're going to defend all weapons at all costs. that's not the way they used to be. there used to be a time when democrats were a mixed enough party that our conversation about guns was more nuanced than it is. now you have the tribalism. who is paying the cost? kids getting shot not just in classrooms but all across the country. >> look, how the discussion, defend bump stocks if you want to, defend ar-15s if you want to. you don't have to say the media loves mass shooting.

the fact that that's the position i think warps the argument. >> cpac is such an important convention. it's an opportunity for all the conservatives to get together, the revival, the good moment to get folks together. it gives you insight into the best thinking on the right, but it also gives you some insight into some of the worst tendencies on the right. it was so shocking to see her at the town hall meeting, cnn town hall meeting. she was calm, she was measured, speaking as a mom. i didn't agree with what she was saying, but her tone seemed responsible. within 24 hours she's throwing red meat to this crowd and saying things -- you worry about irresponsible stuff, you keep telling people that the media likes murder, and that puts a lot of people at risk. it's irresponsible. i went to las vegas for my show, the van jones show which is going to be tomorrow, i got a chance to talk in las vegas,

site of tone of the biggest mas shootings. i got two survivors in the car with me, in the van with me with the owner of the gun store who sold the weapons to the sniper. four of us in the van. it was very deep, emotional, but it got constructive because people are still healing on the ground in these places. what's not good is when the national figures like her go out and throw out the red meat. >> it would be helpful to have the nra at the table for all these conversations. you heard xi has a solution there. then they play to their audience of course and go to cpac and say these things about the media, that we would love a school shooting. how dare they? it's actually sort of sickening and that's not helpful to the conversation which was the point i was making to her. if they're going to be involved in the conversation, let's just

all take down that rhetoric. >> i think that's right. we sometimes take offense when people do that kind of stuff. i think it's woers than that. if the only thing that the nra was doing was saying mean stuff about reporters, that's awful. but the nra has played such a destructive roll over this whole period of time. for instance, i'm not a gun expert. if i say, look, i want bump stock -- people say how do you know that's going to make a difference. here is what i say. i don't know and i will never get to know because we don't even get a chance to inknow investigate, don't get a chance to try this, evaluate after three years, try something else because the nra has the entire elected officials in our country terrorized they're going to get thrown out of office if they even propose some experimentation. so you're now in a situation where you have shooting after shooting after shooting. we've had no federal response so we don't know what might make a difference. when you're stopping innovation,

stopping experimentation, you're stopping progress. that's why those young people do not see the nra as their friend, across the board, the kids hiding under desks and the cops who go to save them are both saying the nra's position is too extreme. >> you mentioned your show, which airs tomorrow night, we can hardly keep track of which shooting we're talking about right now. las vegas wasn't so long ago. >> it was october. >> you also have a chance to talk to steph curry, right? one of the great basketball players of all time, but a guy who doesn't care just about basketball. >> he actually weighed in on the mass shootings. one of the things so interesting is when you see these shrill debates going on, i'm always right, i'm the best, i'm the best, you're terrible. steph curry doesn't do any of that on or off the basketball court. his style of leadership is very humble, very empowering of other people, and he wins everything.

i talked to him about -- one guy says i'm going to win all the time. his style is terrible and hasn't passed that many bills. on the other hand, steph curry, you win everything, he talks about his wife, his daughter, the women in his life. i can't help notice the contrast -- we talk about his charitable work, his family, politics. this style which is so powerful and so effective versus what we're seeing in washington, d.c. >> steph curry for president? >> steph curry for whatever he wants to do. steph curry was built in a lab by dads who want to be able to tell their kids do your homework, be nice, be polite, work hard and you can make it in america. >> i will watch "the van jones show" tomorrow night with my children so they can learn also how to shoot the three. be sure to watch. the president says he wants to arm adept teachers and even give them bonuses if they will

get gun training. we'll go to one school in texas that's already arming teachers. what's happening there? that's next. it's inspected by mercedes-benz factory-trained technicians. or it isn't. it's backed by an unlimited mileage warranty, or it isn't. for those who never settle, it's either mercedes-benz certified pre-owned, or it isn't. the mercedes-benz certified pre-owned sales event. now through february 28th. only at your authorized mercedes-benz dealer. than♪ you. imagine if the things you bought every day... earned you miles to get to the places you really want to go. with the united mileageplus explorer card, you'll get a free checked bag. two united club passes. priority boarding. and earn fifty thousand bonus miles after you spend three thousand dollars on purchases in the first three months from account opening plus, zero-dollar intro annual fee

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this is the stark message that greets you when you walk into this school building in texas. the superintendent oversees what the school district calls the guardian program. it's a small force of volunteer school staff allowed to carry a concealed firearm. and he says they're equipped to confront an active shooter. >> we don't want to be at the mercy of somebody that's intent on doing harm. i refuse to be that person. >> in the wake of the stoneman douglas high school shooting, the idea of arming teachers has sparked outrage. >> am i supposed to have a kevlar vest, am i supposed to strap it to my leg? >> i don't believe teachers should be armed. i believe teachers should teach. >> in some mostly rural communities across the country, the idea of arming teachers is welcomed, even by some students like this freshman and junior at

the high school who asked we don't identify them. >> i feel protected. i don't feel like they're going to threaten me in any way. i feel like if someone came in, they'd handle it. i feel protected. >> i feel really safe knowing i can come to school, and if there's an incident that does happen, that they'll be able to protect us. >> out of the roughly 1,000 school districts across the state of texas, there are about 170 that have a policy that allow teachers and administrators to carry a firearm on campus. in the small town of cal liss berg, the program was i'm. ed because the city does haven't a local police department, they rely on county sheriffs. in a county this large it can take many minutes for those deputies to respond to something like a shooting scene inside a school. >> cluxton says they undergo active shooter training once a

year and routine target practice at gun ranges. critics say that isn't enough. the school officer at stoneman douglas who was trained far more extensively waited outside the building as the gunman unleashed a deadly massacre. cluxton is convinced if his guardians face the same ordeal, they won't flinch. >> we're trying to put our teachers in a better position to be better equipped to protect our kids. i have complete faith in our team that they're willing to stand up and protect our people. >> reporter: the armed teachers here haven't faced the worse case scenario. the question remains, how will they react if they're forced to face a killer. ed lavandera, cnn, cal liss burg, texas. >> a lot of it is hypothetical. we don't know how this will work in any sort of big numbers until it happens and we don't want it ever to happen again. >> will it work? will teachers want it? will it prevent discussions

about other things that might work as well. >> john, great to be with you. cnn newsroom with pamela brown begins after this quick break. have a great weekend everyone. c, and get four unlimited lines for only thirty-five bucks each. woah. plus, netflix for the whole family. on us. prrrrrrr... so, they get their shows... let's go, girl! you're gonna love this bit! and you get yours. watch however you want. on your phone, tablet, or tv. for a limited time, get 4 lines for just thirty-five bucks per line, with no extra charges. it's showtime! all on america's best unlimited network, t-mobile.

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that puts ourselves in harm's way, and to have a partner that is so skilled at what they do is indispensable, and i couldn't ask for a better partner. good friday morning. i'm pamela brown. this morning florida governor rick scott is set to announce his action plan to increase security at schools amid the stunning revelations that an armed officer on duty at marjory stoneman douglas waited outside doing, quote, nothing, according to the sheriff during last week's massacre. the long serving deputy was suspended while higherups investigated and he has now resigned. also this morning, president trump is set to address the conservative political action