President Donald Trump is not even pretending to care about seriously preventing gun violence anymore after he openly endorsed the “good guy with a gun” talking point the NRA always uses in addition to “thoughts and prayers” after a mass shooting.

For years, the NRA has been insisting that “guns everywhere” is the only way to stop mass shooters, a claim that has been consistently proven wrong over the years, particularly at the Parkland school shooting in 2018 when 17 were killed despite an armed deputy being on duty at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

At a church in White Settlement, Texas on Sunday, a gunman rose from the congregation and killed two with a shotgun before being shot a killed by a member of the church security team. Jack Wilson, a former reserve deputy for the Hood County Sheriff’s Office, has firearm training. And his past training as a deputy gave him the experience necessary to react quickly to the situation to save lives.

Trump seized upon the heroic actions of Wilson to praise Texas gun laws, which are incredibly weak, but only after once again offering “thoughts and prayers” for the victims.

Trump would go on to tweet about the shooting again on Tuesday, further pushing the “good guy with a gun” claim.

Again, not everyone is as proficient with firearms as a former reserve deputy. Just because a highly trained individual saved the day in a small church, it doesn’t mean it’s a good idea for everyone to carry guns. And it certainly does not mean we should have guns in schools, theaters, concerts and elsewhere. One of the reasons why this shooter did not kill more people is because he was using a shotgun and not an assault weapon such as an AR-15.

Twitter users were quick to condemn Trump for supporting weaker gun laws in the wake of a tragedy that could have been much worse and should not have even happened in the first place.

Trump is clearly angling for further NRA support ahead of the 2020 Election. After all, the NRA poured millions of dollars into his 2016 campaign. What our country needs are tighter laws that would prevent guns from ending up in the wrong hands in the first place. It’s fortunate that an armed security guard had the law enforcement training and the nerve to stop a shooter. But this is a rare case no matter what Trump and the NRA say and it offers no proof whatsoever that more guns are the solution to gun violence.

It also shouldn’t be lost that the person who shot the church shooter was hardly just an “average Joe” or anything of the sort. Fact is, he was an instructor and affiliated with law enforcement: 

Paxton said the head of security, Jack Wilson, was the only person who shot at Kinnunen, and he fired just once. The shot killed the gunman.
Along with being the head of security, Wilson is a former reserve deputy sheriff who is a firearms instructor, Paxton said.
“My understanding is, he was a reserve deputy and had significant training …”

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