the nra is certainly backing that. they stand for the policies, not about the pocketbook. >> i want to go back to you, josh, to the point you made, will congress have the appetite especially in the election year to do anything on the gun industry. we've seen other bills in the wake of mass shootings dealing with gun control have withered away. they failed. why would anything change now? >> there certainly have been a lot of coalescing forces that have been interesting, the students coming out, president trump being more vociferous on guns than some on the right. it's hard to imagine the conservative members of the house, the freedom caucus, will push for gun control changes in an election year. political reality is what it is on gun control in washington. i think the nra does play a big force in that. it's hard to see significant lalaw being passed in 2018. everything in president trump's wash has been unpredictable. >> the president has said he wants to lead on this issue where his predecessors have failed. the questio

this is a move flatly opposed by the nra. the president wrote, i will be strongly pushing comprehensive background checks with an emphasis on mental health, raise age to 21 and end sale of bump stocks. congress is in a mood to finally do something on the issue i hope. this son top of a significant shift from marco rubio, a republican with an a-plus rating from the nra during the cnn town hall overnight. >> i traditionally have not supported looking at magazine clip size, and after this and some of the details i've learned about it, i'm reconsidering that position, and i'll tell you why. i'll tell you why. because while it may not prevent an attack, it may save lives in an attack. >> so the big question this morning, the big unknown really is how far will the president go? also, how far will the nra let this go? we might know soon from the nra at some point this morning, maybe in just minutes. the executive director of the nra gives a significant address. wayne lapierre will speak to this key conservative conference. these are

but the nra is ready to do things. people like to blame them and they do have power and all of that, but they want to do things. >> john, when you hear that from the president, what is your reaction? what do you think? >> first off what he's talking about video games and how it's shaping the youths' minds, we can't go blaming mass shootings on a video game. that's just for fun. to make that comparison through playing a game, through real life action, that's just despicable because the root of the problem is the gun, mental health, stricter background checks. when he's talking about how the nra, it's not their fault, it really is because they are the ones that are bringing the donations to our legislators, or per persuading their minds. summon more valuable to them than children and the youth and citizens of the united states' lives. >> you've been outspoken about the nra. the nra was represented yesterday at that town hall that cnn held with dana lash, and there was also a couple speaking moments this morning at cpac wi

what the nra is. if they gave something, the rest of the world would sort of be dumfounded. >> they say okay, we support a bump stock ban, after vegas. that is a concession. >> this is about money. it's about the gun lobby, gun manufacturers. let me be very clear. this is a tragic moment. we've seen -- i mean, it's a massacre. >> another tragic moment. >> another tragic moment. but there are folks in communities that i know who have been burying their kids for a long time. because guns have been in their communities. parents have been grieving because they've been putting their babies in grounds. when kids were organizing to -- because their children, their friends have been put in the ground. they have been experiencing ptsd because they've had to bury their friends, right? this is not start small. it's an outsized influence of a small group of people who want to keep their guns, while people are having to bury their children. so donald trump can perform. politicians can try to stay elected. at the en

the nra has the school shield program. it's assisted 150 schools across the country in coming up with solutions for this. making sure students and teachers are protected. as wayne lapierre has said, as i have said before, the nra has resources at schools' and parents' and teachers' disposals. >> you have seen teachers say, that's not a job we want. >> if teachers voluntarily choose to and the parents would like it. my kids go to a school where teachers chose to get trained and carry fire arms for their protection and the protection of the students. and this is something that, as parents of this school, and educators in this community, everyone came together and determined that was the best thing for that school. parents and educators have to determine for their schools. the nra's clear with school shield. we have tons of solutions. if schools determine that maybe perhaps fire arms is not the way they want to go, the nra has resources for them, too. >> a lot of people are wondering how a shooter like this can get an ar-15.

the nra strongly opposes that. they say that 18, 19 and 20-year-olds have the second amendment right to go out and arm themselves for self-defense. they can't get handguns because that's a federal law right now. in your state of florida, do you think there is backing for that, to raise the age limit to 21? >> of a short-term fix, there is a discussion that's happening with the republican legislature here. as you know, in my party, i am in the minority. i am the incoming minority leader. however, i can tell you the private discussions they're having is to increase it from 18 to 21. but the reality at the end of the day is that's not going to deal with the fact that we have a major issue in this country as it relates to the ar-15 that is simply made to kill, it's a weapon of mass destruction, and it's something that we have to tackle. everything else at this moment that i honestly believe is a distraction. so we have to look at the real issue. >> chris, how old are you? >> i am 18, sir. >> you're 18. what do you think

in front of the nra. et's show you and we'll talk on the other side. >> the question is actually, do you believe it should be harder to obtain the semi-automatic weapons and modifications to make them fully automatic to make them bump stock? >> i think the atf is responding about bump stocks. the president asked -- >> i'm asking you as a representative of the nra. >> the nra position -- >> what's yours? >> the 5 million members i represent, that's what they have been on. that answers your question. and they spoke about that before the president made a move and they spoke about that before attorney general jeff sessions made an announcement about that, too. so, that answers your question with that. >> for a second. i understand you're standing up for the nra and that's what you're supposed to do. you just told this group of people that you are standing up for them. you're not standing up for them until you say, i want -- >> you know, what's scary about their line -- and i go back to bhau said about waywhat

but the nra is ready to do things. and, you know, people like to -- they do have power and all of that. but they want to do -- they actually came up with certain of the rules and regulations that we have now. but we're going to have to toughen -- i told them, we're going to have to toughen them up because it doesn't make anybody look good and most importantly, i saw the devastation of these families. we can't allow that to happen. but, again, we need a hardened school. but we want to harden it without having everybody standing there with a rifle. i don't want that either. because that sets a lot of bad signals. i'm watching john kelly. general john kelly. he's a four-star marine. he's a tough cookie. if he was a teacher, i wouldn't mind having -- him have a gun, because i guarantee you he can use it better than anybody. there's no security guard you're going to hire that's going to handle a gun better than him. if he's a teacher and other friends of him from the marines, if they're teaching or other people like that, i

supported it, nra got the votes and nra got it passed. we demanded an honest system that was supposed to make sure good people can purchase firearms as quickly as possible, a system that catches violent felons, the ad jaud indicated mentally incompetent and dangerous and every other prohibited person right at the point of sale. where they would be prosecuted for a federal felony. but they aren't. what is happened instead is one of the greatest failures in the history of american leadership. in 2010, roughly 80,000 prohibited people committed a felony by trying to buy a gun. just 44 were prosecuted for it. does that sound like a good number to anybody? so when you hear politicians who won't fix the broken system talk about expanding it, don't buy it. demand what works. put armed security in every school. fix the broken mental health system. enforce the federal gun laws against every criminal thug on the street. prosecute dangerous people had they show up to buy a gun and for god sake, put every prohibited person into the system. that's what

the president is backed by the nra. e president who rally after rally after rally made so clear his pro-gun stance. if he is serious about various proposals, then perhaps that makes something happen on capitol hill. but i think it's also important to note that 240 characters does not a proposal make. what does bump stocks mean? raising the age for ar-15s mayor m may or may not happen. >> you have seen republicans change a little bit, not as much as gun restriction people would like to see, but they have moved toward enforcing a background check bill. a co-sponsored bill was released just a couple months ago. i think you'll see more republicans come on board after one horrific thing happens after another. you also have a president who, despite the nra giving so much backing and having so much invest ed in this president, is not really an nra guy. 14 years ago he was endorsing the assault weapons ban. he's really a democrat, only recently became a republican. he's on the side of let's do stricter background checks, let's m

i agree with the company's boycotting nra. we had a few less guns in the united states, especially those ones that kill multiple people, you know, the guns that are so dangerous, just getting rid of them. there is no need for them. host: do you think boycotts work overall? caller: in the long run, it definitely will. host: what makes you think that? people it is showing that we are not for the nra. we are not for guns. guns.y, women are not for stated theirally opinions on this. they don't agree with the guns as well. want theses men that guns in our society. it is not right. host: united airlines put out a tweet when it put out its decision regarding the nra. notifying theis nra that it will no longer offer discounted rates to its annual meeting and asked that the nra remove our information from their website. one of the many businesses that have decided to pull out a partnership with the nra over last week's gun shooting and topics overall. john on twitter says it allows us a greater insight as to which businesses want us to

whether the nra supports them or not. that's the only way we will make progress on an issue that is frustrated congress, and the vast majority of american people for far too long. on another matter, last week the republican-led sec formally published a brutal reversing net neutrality, the legal infrastructure -- fcc -- that kept the internet free and open to all americans. the fcc's role will give the isp the inner service, internet service providers the authority to restrict customers access to their favorite websites by forcing consumers to buy internet packages like cable and pay for premium access, pay more for premium access. in this new universe, big companies that can pay to play could get faster internet service while startups and everyday americans are stuck in the slow lane. it will mean the end of the free we know it. the way the internet is driven innovation and entrepreneurship, the wickets provide unprecedented opportunities for americans to learn and connect with one another, that could all change with a pro

and none, of course, for the nra. the blame was placed squarely on the shoulders today in this room on democrats, on the media. they said lapierre and dana lash who you heard there speaking, spokesperson for the nra, they said democrats and the media are trying to exploit this tragedy, ultimately trying to eliminate the second amendment all together and they warned the crowd here of that threat. take a listen to a little bit more of what lapierre had to say about democrats and the media. >> what they want are more restrictions on the law abiding. think about that. their solution is to make you, all of you right under the carpet. even the unbelievable failure of the fbi. >> the thing that lapierre did not mention as you can hear. for his tweet earlier today where the president supported strengthening background checks, raising the minimum purchasing age for guns to 21 years old and banning bump stocks. these are all things that the nra would oppose in some fashion. wayne lapierre did not mention the president explicitly

is on the same page with the nra. they've been pretty clear they oppose increasing the age to purchase ar-15 weapons. now, president trump is going to speak a little bit later on this morning at cpac. that conservative conference that's in maryland. i am told he's going to talk about guns. so i anticipate we're going to hear more about his proposal to arm certain teachers. we're also, i am told, going to hear about north korea. mr. trump expected to make an announcement about that critical foreign policy crisis as well. >> clearly he's got a lot on his plate. for anyone hoping that this president is going to break with the nra, i want you to listen to some of what we heard yesterday from donald trump and from the nra's wayne la pierre jr. >> we must immediately harden our schools. >> we have to harden our schools. >> so-called gun-free zones that are wide open targets. >> it is such a target for the killer. they look for gun free zones. >> it should not be easier for a mad man to shoot up a school than a bank. >> i wan

to actually pass the legislation that the nra is against. what happens moving forward. what i think though is that these kids have completely injected a new -- a new day hopefully and hopefully they have injected steel into the spine of those who have yet been too cowardly to do anything at this point. >> jason, earlier today president trump's re-election campaign e-mailed this photo showing president trump with a shooting survivor. this is from the parkland massacre. the e-mail then went on to ask for a donation to his campaign. you were part of this campaign at one point, jason. is this appropriate for the president to fund raise off a tragedy like this? >> well, clearly on an e-mail like this this is probably not something the president himself would have seen. i do think it would be appropriate to send out a picture from the official side of things from the white house talking about the president visiting with both victims and first responders. i think that would be appropriate. i would not have used that picture in a campaign e-mail. i

the nra used to be a reasonable organization. e-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 o

supported it, nra got the votes and nra got it passed. we demanded an honest system, that was supposed to make sure good people can purchase firearms as quickly as possible, a system that catches violent felons, the adjudicated mentally incompetent, and dangerous, and every other prohibited person right at the point of sale where they would be prosecuted for a federal felony. but they aren't. what has happened instead is one of the greatest failures in the history of american leadership. in 2010, roughly 80,000 prohibited people committed a felony by trying to buy a gun. just 44 were prosecuted for it. does that sound like a good number to anybody? so when you hear politicians who won't fix the broken system, talk about expanding it, don't buy it. demand what works. put armed security in every school. fix the broken mental health system. enforce the federal gun laws against every criminal thug on the street, prosecute dangerous people when they show up to buy a gun, and for god's sake, put every prohibited person in the system. that's what

it's not on the nra and the nra's money, it's intimidation. it comes from the gun owners of america. it's a lot of pressure on the right for republicans. until they see president trump actually not just speaking about this before cameras, before governors, but really pushing the nra and pushing back, they're not going to walk one foot with him, because there -- it's far too politically perilous for them. >> you know from the markets, people no longer listen to president trump's rhetoric. they listen to what he actually follows through with. but as far as being intimidated, why is it -- talk to me about the power of the nra in terms of primary vote. when we talked so much about this movement, this tipping point, the youth. just last night i saw people saying these kids from parkland high school have more instagram followers than the nra does. instagram followers mean nothing. votes do. >> i think that's something we ignore at our peril. i think a.b.'s right about this. the nra's power is not about donations. when we look at the -- >> they don't

the nra opposes it. and he says he wants to ban bump stocks, which can make ar-15-style rifles fire as fast as machine guns, which the organization has not yet endorsed or opposed. for a moment, though, i just want to return to the president's belief that he won't have to take them on because, he says, the nra wants to do the right thing. keeping 'em honest, he said those words just a few short hours after wayne lapierre and dana loesch made some pretty controversial statements at cpac. >> the elites don't care, not one whit about america's school system and schoolchildren. if they truly cared, what they would do is they would protect them. for them, it's not a safety issue. it's a political issue. they care more about control and more of it. their goal is to eliminate the second amendment and our firearms freedoms, so they can eradicate any individual freedoms. >> 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 r

and i voted for it and the nra attacked me. i sent their money back and i said i'm never again going to take another penny from this organization. >> that's what we need. we need courageous republicans. most of the democrats are on the right side of this, not all. i want to make a point though, micky. you're so right. when i started out, california was a red state. then it was purple, then blue. but in the days when it was a red state and i was in local office and then the house, i just put it all online like you did. they came after me, they still come after me. i'm retired, they still chase me around with their tweets. and i proved, i proved that you could win even if you stood up to these people because even the people that didn't agree with me, said that woman has guts. you know? let's see some guts. >> you know, micky, let me ask you this. you're not -- there's a certain kind of retired republican that represents a district that's now become very democratic. maybe they represented new hampshire. you're from oklahoma. right?

president is, regardless of whether or not the nra is. i think so, as long as it's written correctly, the procedures there. the nra has long been in favor to tightening background checks when it comes to mental illness. we wouldn't even have the background checks we have if it weren't for the nra instituting that years ago. thank goodness. some people are preventing from getting firearms, thank goodness, because of the nra. we need to prevent more if they're not mentally well. the nra, i think, has been unfairly demonized in this discussion. it's the old sbest largest civil rights organization in america. the bill of rights is important, all the amendments. we wouldn't have a first amendment if ewee didn't have a second amendment. >> wayne lapierre said these folks, meaning gun control activists, want to take away your second amendment. they actually don't want to take away people's guns. i think they want to safeguard certain types of guns from falling into the hands of -- >> of people who shouldn't have them. >> right. >> we're all on th

this is something the nra doesn't back. the president was articulating something very smart when he said that the nra is essentially a paper tiger. because this organization has presented itself as an arm of the gop. there is one game in town for the nra. and it is not the democratic party. if the republicans really want to pick a fight with this organization, they reason that the nra is going to fold and i think it is a reasonably smart calculation to make. >> so is donald trump serious when he wants to go after the nra when they are not that scary and when the nra isn't the rabid pit bull growling at his republican lawmakers. >> look, i think it would be foolish to bet on the president's sticking with this line for more than a few days. he may change his mind again. he understands that the nra was the single biggest outcry that supporting him in 2016. i agree with people that said he is probably driven toward the measures just temperamentally. and he likes the idea of making a big statement and doing something and he -- kn

that's okay. >> president trump says he is willing to fight the nra, but after hearing from the nra andmeal this weekend with the lobby, the white house appears to be backing off a proposal to raise minimum age on guns. >>> does the first son-in-law jared kushner have access to classified information? the white house won't say even after the deadline to deal with clearance has come and gone. >>> and a pause in fighting in syria ordered by the russian president. why did vladimir putin make the call? is fragile peace holding on the ground? good morning. welcome to "early start." i'm christine romans. >> i'm dave briggs. lawmakers in the nation waiting for clarity from the president on guns. they're still waiting. the president mentioning a few possibilities when he spoke to governors at the white house. he was firm on bump stocks. >> bump stocks, i'm writing that out. i don't care if congress does it or not. i'm writing it out. >> president trump told lawmakers he is willing to stand up to the nra and they should be too. >> don't worry about the nra. they're on our side. half of you are s

on every issue. >> willing to go against the nra ultimately because the nra stands firm and does not support age limits for semiautomatic rifles. is the president willing to stick with his -- >> he's willing to do what's right to ensure safe schools. >> reporter: and, today, the nra continues to rally rejecting the idea of raising the age limit for those buying semiautomatic rifles, despite the president supporting it, and, today, wolf, the president said he doesn't like the idea of active shooter drills. when we asked the white house about that, the press secretary said that he is more concerned about the branding of it, not the actual drills, saying he prefers the name "safety drills," wolf? >> thank you very much, pamela brown, over at the white house, the national rifle association stayed quite for a week after the florida school massacre, but now lashing out against any mood to reform gun laws here in the united states. the group says ceo wayne lapierre addressed the conservative gathering outside washington. our political reporter is on scene. rebecca, doesn't sound like the

had lunch with the nra over the weekend. it wasn't on the schedule and we've now learned since the briefing that that meeting happened on sunday. sarah sanders saying, look, the president is meeting with a lot of people and again saying at the end that's why some of these meetings, obviously not that luncheon, but some of these meetings like we saw today with the governors are open so that in her words you can all see what's going on. chris cillizza, is that really what's going on here? we're really pulling back the curtain just to let you see exactly what the conversations are that are happening? >> well, i mean, look, transparency is not partial transparency. we're transparent when we want you to know things and not transparent when we don't. so, no, this is not radical transparency. barack obama didn't engage in radical transparency despite promises to and neither did george w. bush. but what is interesting that donald trump said today in front of the governors that the nra wants to do something on this. you guys think th

the idea that the nra can block any kind of gun control. and watching that, it seemed to be blame law enforcement for the shootings. it troubled me because of my brother. law enforcement officials are facing it he have day. >> i'm going to play something else. on rubio's changing positions, what is your response? >> i think you will see other politicians move. this basic idea, a teenager, they can't drink alcohol but they can have an assault rifle. >> they're talking about large capacity magazines and his changing stance on that. >> senator rubio, able big issue when it comes to the debate with semi-automatic womens and automatic weapons is a large capacity magazine. would you agree that there is no place in our society for large capacity magazines? >> i'll glad you asked that question. i traditionally have not supported looking at magazine clip size. after this, i'll reconsidering that position and i'll tell you why. i'll tell you why. because while it may not prevent an attack, it may save lives in an attack. and i'll let the authorities d

now, the nra has pushed the house republicans to attack the fix nics bill, a very modest improvement, focused on one issue that happened in texas, but was not relevant to what happened here, in parkland. they tried to attach that to nra's number one legislative priority, concealed carry res possess trithat defeats the entire purpose of the legislation. even when it comes to the most modest improvements to gun safety laws, the nra always findses as way to stand in the way of progress. if we're going to get something significant done to keep our schools and our kids safe from gun violence, president trump and congressional republicans will have to, for the first time in a very long time, buck the nra. it's our hope that republican leaders will work with news a bipartisan way to pass legislation that makes a real difference, not half measures, not baby steps, and certainly not attaching good legislation to legislation that would make the overall problem even worse. we hope republicans will work with us to pass serious changes to our gun laws, whether the nra supports them or not. that's

but the nra, the nra does care. [applause] we -- we at the nra are americans who continue to mourn and care. and work every day and contributing real solutions to this very real problem. trulyractical action to protect our children. think about it. it is a bizarre fact that in this country our jewelry stores, all over this country, are more important than our children. our nbas, our airports, games, our nfl games, our office buildings, our movie stars, our politicians -- they are all more projected than are -- more protected than our children at school. does that make any sense to anybody? [applause] do we really love our money and our celebrities more than we love our children? >> no, no. mr. lapierre: can we answer that question honestly? any of us, can we answer that question honestly, knowing that we surround and protect so much with armed security while we drop our kids off at school, that are so-called gun free zones, that are wide open targets for any crazy madman bent on evil to come their first -- there fir

from survivors, president trump today said he's open to new restrictions on gun ownership, but are the nra and congress hoping this all just goes away? plus, he put guns to people's heads before. cnn uncovering new threats that the confessed gunman made months before the massacre. why didn't the police move on him then? and back to brass? after months of butting heads and one undercutting tweet, could national security adviser general hr mcmaster be on the way back to the pentagon? >> good afternoon, welcome to the "the lead," i'm jack tapper. we start with an ambiguous promise from president trump on taking action on guns, but what action remains unclear and how much the president is willing to fight for a particular decision. he hopes the congress will do something, back to the measure that the nra opposes, raising the age to purchase se semiautomatic weapons, from 18 to 21 and supports training and arming some teachers, even giving them bonuses for doing so while praising leaders of the nra as great american patriots today. left undefined as of now are pledges to end sales of bump stock

>> i'm not sure what impact it will have on the nra. h the other day seemed to be more about digging in than about finding places to compromise. but i will will say we are seeing just a wave of private businesses express their unhappiness with the nra by cutting their ties. and it shows. even though nothing's happening through legislation right now, the private market is stepping up to really make a stand against the nra. >> andre, i want you to listen to president trump. this was april at the annual nra meeting, april of 2017. here's what he said. >> you have a true friend and champion in the white house. no longer will federal agencies be coming after law abiding gun owners. no longer will the government be trying to undermine your rights and your freedoms as americans. >> andre, if a democrat had proposed what the president is proposing now as it relates to background checks and bump stocks and age to purchase a weapon, it will be received as federal agencies coming after law abiding gun owners and undermining rights and freedoms. so

the nra's part of the fabric of america. if there is indeed a change towards policies, where does that put the nra? >> fascinating question. i mean will we see a face off between the nra and the president? the president so far says no. he seems to suggest the nra might shift his position on the age limit issue. we have not seen any public evidence of that. your report or if you moments ago was talking with the pressure on social media on the nra. the flipside says 5 million members that have been very vocal, they have been able to mobilize that in the past in an effective way from that standpoint. so it would be a really interesting thing to watch. >> the president gets a lot of respect from the nra. can he be the president who can negotiate a solution that satisfies the concerns of americans who want gun policy change and the nra? you have a tight grip on their guns and the right to have them. >> is a pretty difficult tightrope to watch. it is possible for example, president trump will push the age restrictions we are talki

is he willing to take on the nr nra? this idea of raising the minimum age. >> the president still supports raising the age limit to 21 for the purchase of certain firearms. we are meeting with bipartisan members of congress tomorrow. we expected to be a topic of discussion. he knows everybody doesn't necessarily agree. >> other news of the white house that happened today. president trump named his 2020 campaign manager, brad parscale. he will also liaise with the congressional races between now and november, trying to hold on to the house and senate in the midterm elections. the president announcing today he cut a deal for two new air force one aircraft with boeing. $3.9 billion deal. the president says saving 1.4 billion off the initial cost estimate. >> bret: he likes to talk about saving the money on those deals. >> he does. the art of the deal. he bought a couple airframes that well already in existence. >> bret: thank you. the justice department coming under new scrutiny over it surveillance of the term campaign. chi

the nra has stood in the way every time. shifting the conversation from getting guns off the streets to mental health or video games or conspiracy theories that the black president is sending the black helicopters to confiscate the red state guns. this time something feels different. the survivors of the massacre at marjory stoneman douglas, teenagers, some as young as 15, have spent every waking moment since last wednesday not only grieving classmates, processing what happened to them but focusing their passion, their talent an energy on disrupting the pattern. and putting the nra and the rest of the gun lobby on the defensive. these kids are so affected some on the right has spun conspiracy theorys to undermine them. even in the face of that these students are working tire lessl to make sure this never happens again. joining me now is david hogg, a senior at marjory stoneman douglas. thanks for coming on. >> thank you for having me. >> my condolences to you on the loss of your friends. i think what a lot of the country has

the fact is that the president wants to raise the minimum age to 21 and the nra doesn't. that's an obvious conflict there between those two stances. the other big thing that the president has been pushing for is giving teachers concealed weapons, arming teachers who need to be adept at handling weapons like these firearms, giving them weapons in schools and he touted the idea of giving them a bonus, if you're an armed teacher you would get a 20% bonus or 20% of teachers, he

and he says he's willing to fight the nra to get it. he also went through a laundry list of other actions he thinks the government should take. >> bump stocks, i'm riding that out myself. we have to take steps to harden our schools so that they're less vulnerable to attack. this includes allowing well-trained and certified school personnel to carry concealed firearms. we have to discuss mental health and we have to do something about it. you know, in the old days we had mental institutions. don't worry about the nra they're on our side. half you guys are afraid of nra. there's nothing to be afraid of. if they're not with you, we have to fight them every once in a while. that's okay. >> our big question is will donald trump use his unique power with the gop base to face off against the nra? there's been a shift in the gun control conversation since the florida school shooting almost two weeks ago that left 17 people dead. a new poll finds nearly three-quarters of americans want laws tightened. it is not just applications. companies are li

the nra came out against the age of buying an ar-15. he was in favor of it. the president has backed bump stocks. they will ask the justice department to move forward. rubio said capacity magazines, going a little further. that is significant. he didn't please the audience on everything. he was forth right on that. he said i will keep take the money from them. he gets more than anyone in the senate. 3 polyp $3 million. >> he broke with the nra. >> go ahead, ron. >> he broke with the nra around the edges. capacity magazine is important. raising the age is really at the periphery i think of the debate. the central issue, the central front on assault weapons, you know, there was no movement at all. and i think the other lesson from the immigration debate is that even if you have folks saying, for example, they wanted a solution to dhaka, they tied it to conditions that were completely unacceptable and essentially poison pills. the same analogy could totally apply here. you could easily see republicans accepting some minor breaks with the n

that's to fight the nra, for sure. the real question is whether it's a case of just saying you can fight the nra for rhetorical value or to try to reframe the politics of the question and actually take them on. we will see whether or not he is willing. is, theon this president's position on all of this is interesting and it could have some impact. but the president is not right law. congress writes law. what i fear is that the president is trying to reframe the argument, essentially trying therovide some cover for leadership, republican leadership in the house and the senate, whichever peter usually and consistently blocked any meaningful piece of gun legislation from coming to the four -- floor of the house or senate. host: what's possible now? have to deal with closing the background check loophole. fix nix is important but it closing the with 40% of gun sales that are not subject to any background check whatsoever and that's a significant problem. with three other members of congress, i introduced a bump stock bill.

the nra. >> hopefully we could have you on tomorrow. and i'm sorry the briefing took up so much of the time but i do appreciate you staying around and of course -- we all appreciate your opinions on this. guys, thank you very much. and that will wrap thing up for me this hour. the honorable and good ali velshi. >> a great discussion. that was an important discussion. being a law enforcement officer, security officer is a different set of skills than being a teacher and they are both to be respected and held in highesteem. but you can't switch one with the other. >> here is the thing about arming people, sometimes law enforcement officers will say when they come on a scene and there is folks with gunz, it is hard to tell who the bad guy is. there are scenarios across the country, including right near us in long island where off-duty police officers live or retired police officers live and it caused confusion when all of those folks respond. >> it is not a simple answer to a complicated problem. >> it is not, unfortunately. >> thanks, have

or when they get other spokesmen for the nra. edia now, it's a -- it's hand-to-hand combat, fla frankly. and that's not how they used to be perceived. they used to get deference from the mainstream media, but kudos to the kids. >> there is still mainstream media, and here's one arguing against strengthening background checks if you can believe that. >> the background check system is flawed, isn't that the issue here? >> it's not -- >> well, because we don't put any information in it. >> you're trying to put lipstick on a pig. why do you make this argument that says, well if you just pass more gun laws it won't matter, criminals get it. why do we pass any laws? why do we pass draws on drugs? why do we pass laws on murder? >> well, we should pass my law to repeal the gun-free gun zone act. i call it the safe students act. 3 million people were denied a purchase since this has been put in place. >> e.j., your witness. >> two things, one, every state that has passed things like assault weapons ban has seen sharp declines in these mass

fedex refusing to bend to backlash despite companies cutting ties with the nra. s is here with the online phrase. >> reporter: mounting pressure from gun-control advocates will not drop discounted rates to nra members was the company released a statement that while its decision and policy on gun control differs from the nra it will not deny service or disseminate against any legal entity regardless of policy positions or political views, this is the hashtag boycott fedex usps for our weekly shipments, other people applauding the decision. dispersants we plant stand their ground, don't get pushed around by the left because you support the law of the land was another twitter user so seriously i didn't use fedex that much but now i respect them, have to start. jillian: more companies joining their bandwagon. >> we will see how it affects their bottom line. heather: this was unbelievable to me, conservatives have a penchant. >> listens what she had to say on yesterday's show. >> pension for nazis, charlottesville, good guys on both sides, maureen le pen. heather: owes

. >>> meanwhile, gun control advocates are singling out politicians for their ties to the nra. >>> san francisco mayor on what wants to accomplish before voters pick a new mayor in plus, the challenges facing the california democratic party as they convene this weekend. >>> hello and welcome to kqed neoo i'm filling in this week. we begin with student activism. the mass shooting at marjorie stoneman douglas high school in florida revised a heated debate over gun control. nly this time, young people are leading the charge. their message to adults? you haven't done enough to stop gun violence. high school students across the country are staging demonstrations, allies, and walk outs calling for lawmakers to takeio stronger a or face consequences at the polls this fall. joining me now to ta about what bay area youth are doing are two high school students. lily conovall and maxwell stern. thank you for being nkhere. >> tou for having us. >> lily, i wanto start with you. what was your reaction when you heard about parkland? >> i was devastated to s tt we're still dealing with mass shootings

to take the nra's place. not like if they lose power that power will go somewhere because of the nature of the gun debate in this country. that said, the president can't go too far because his base is pro gun, a lot more nra members or people who are very pro second amendment. not necessarily that you're for gun control or anti-second amendment, that's not necessarily true. that said, that does make up his base. it is interesting how the nra is talking about this 21 and over proposal. they're being very careful. they're saying, you know, we oppose this, this is why -- it is how they're talking to the president about it too that is worth watching. they're not taking a hard-line, not saying -- they're not saying confiscation, not using the harder terms when talking -- when addressing the president and his disagreement with them. >> what do you think, susan? what are you expecting to hear from the president on stage there at cpac? >> i am skeptical the president will defy the cultural part of his base, the nra, w

that's not an army from the nra. the nra is created to be a bogeyman. if you look at the statistics, the nra doesn't donate that much money to politicians compared to other people. they donate less than unions. they donate lesson planned parenthood. they don't crack the top 50 in terms of lobbying outfits. i know the nra is powerful in your mind but a lot of the politicians that vote with the nra aren't doing it because they are beholden because they are getting a lot of donations. you can't buy a politician for $2500. they vote with the second amendment because they believe in the second amendment. >> dana: one other thing, which is the possible things changing. one of them has to do with something that's been a thorn in the side of a lot of people for a long time especially on the left. the centers for disease control, because of an amendment passed 25 years ago, has not been allowed and has not been funded to study gun violence and mental illness and gun violence. all of those things get -- one of the things we've talked about is it's better to make d

now it's clear the nra has pushed back on that. you have governor scott talking about raising the age limit. we'll have to see where that goes or did the president buckle to the pressure from the nra on that? >> that's a good question. go ahead, rachel. >> i totally agree with you, gloria. i think that this push, this clamoring for gun control changes, that's only going to happen when a republican loses his or her seat because they opposed a gun control measure or voted to loosen gun laws. show me a single republican that has ever lost his or her race because of a gun issue. never. this won't change unless it becomes a campaign in the mid terms. phil was talking about smaller measures. we could potentially see funding for school safety, we could see funding for mental health, but definitely don't expect anything like an increase to the age of buying an assault weapon or any kind of assault weapons ban, it's just not going to happen in congress. >> it's interesting, though, the president is speaking to the governors when he talks abo

>> and most of it is streaming over nra tv, and what is the latest there? >> because amazon offers a channel that has nra tv and so two gun safety groups calling on amazon and not just that, but apple and roku to sever their ties with the nra and well, as close as response to possible as what we have seen from the nra host. and i want to read you a portion of that that we have here for you there. grant stitchfield, host for that channel says that i hope that amazon realizes and these knuckleheads on social media realize that the 5 million nra members are the most patriotic and the most pro american mem r members of our society, and we have every right to be on amazon. and now amazon has not responded and the last we checked, they are still offering that the channel. roku did respond, fred, saying that the customers have their choice. they can tune into whatever channel they like, but it is something to be closely tracking, and to see if the nra is going to be addressing some of the major companies severing t ties with them. >> polo sandoval in new york. than