Ex-CIA chief praises students fighting for new gun laws

Former CIA Director John Brennan praised the students fighting for gun control after the deadly shooting at their South Florida high school. 

“I greatly admire the courageous Parkland students,” Brennan tweeted on Thursday. “Open discussion on how to end mass shootings essential. @realdonaldtrump needs to listen, absorb, and act. Stronger background checks, ban on bump stocks and assault weapons, and better ability to identify warning signs are key.” 

I greatly admire the courageous Parkland students. Open discussion on how to end mass shootings essential. @realdonaldtrump needs to listen, absorb, and act. Stronger background checks, ban on bump stocks & assault weapons, and better ability to identify warning signs are key.

— John O. Brennan (@JohnBrennan) February 22, 2018

{mosads}Brennan called on Congress last week to ban assault rifles after an AR-15 was used at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School to kill 17 people and injure dozens more. 

The ban on assault weapons expired in 2004.  

Earlier Thursday, President Trump signaled a shift in his stance on gun policy after meeting with Florida victims and survivors at a listening session at the White House on Wednesday. 

Trump expressed a desire to raise the age limit for purchasing guns from 18 to 21 — a move the National Rifle Association fiercely opposes. 

Trump directed his Department of Justice on Tuesday to propose regulations on bump stocks, a device used in the Las Vegas massacre that killed nearly 60 people last year. Bump stocks modify semi-automatic guns to fire more rapidly.

But Trump also spoke at length about the idea of training teachers to carry guns, saying gun-free school zones only become targets.