Trump endorses raising minimum age to 21 for more weapons

President Donald Trump on Thursday endorsed a higher minimum age for buying certain rifles and tighter background checks for purchasers, saying "there's nothing more important than protecting our children," amid a public outcry for action after the Florida school shooting. The president commented as he opened a school safety discussion at the White House with state and local officials from around the country. The current federal minimum age for buying or possessing handguns is 21, but the limit is 18 for rifles including assault-type weapons such as the AR-15 used by a former student in last week's attack in Florida that killed 17 students and staff members. "We're going to work on getting the age up to 21 instead of 18," Trump said at the White House, adding that he thinks the NRA will back it - despite the group's stated opposition. Trump also reiterated his call for trained teachers or others in schools to carry guns as a deterrent to attacks. And he said the nation needs to look at whether violent video games and movies are contributing to school shootings.