'We have to get over it': Trump responds to Iowa school shooting during speech
Former President Donald Trump reacted to the shooting at the high school in Perry, Iowa, during a commit-to-caucus event in Sioux Center on Friday evening — and used an eye-catching turn of phrase.
"It's horrible to see that happening," said Trump. "It's just horrible. So surprising to see it here. But we have to get over it."
The shooting at Perry High School left a sixth-grader dead and injured five others, according to law enforcement.
When Trump was in office, he did not enact any new federal measures on gun safety, other than a ban on so-called "bump stocks," which is currently tied up in litigation after a right-wing federal judge ruled it exceeded the powers authorized by Congress.
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Since taking office, President Joe Biden passed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the first new major federal gun law in 30 years. Among other things, it strengthened the criminal background check system and provided incentives for more states to adopt "red flag" laws that temporarily confiscate firearms from individuals judged high risk by law enforcement.
However, other perennial policy goals around guns, including fully universal background checks or a federal ban on so-called assault-style weapons, remain stuck with no path in Congress.