WASHINGTON – Colorado House Republican Leader Patrick Neville met with President Donald Trump Thursday on the proposal to allow adults to carry guns in schools.

The lawmaker from Castle Rock attended a meeting at the White House with state and local political leaders and law enforcement officers on how to stop gun violence in schools.

The meeting was prompted by the killing of 17 people last week by a lone gunman at a high school in Parkland, Fla.

Neville is a survivor of the 1999 Columbine High School shootings that killed 12 students and a teacher, recently proposed a bill to allow staff members with permits to carry guns in Colorado schools. The bill was defeated Wednesday by Democrats on the State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee.

He repeated much of the reasoning for his bill during his meeting with Trump Thursday.

“We have to find a way to let good people defend our students,” Neville said, according to a White House transcript. “We can’t let criminals think that this is going to be an easy target for them to enter their schools and injure our students. We have to find a way to harden those targets so that our students aren’t sitting ducks.”

Trump answered him by saying, “I happen to agree with you. We have to harden our schools, not soften them up. A gun-free zone to a killer, or somebody that wants to be a killer, that’s like going in for the ice cream.”

The president also wants to allow teachers to carry guns, particularly if they have demonstrated their expertise through a military background.

However, he acknowledged his idea would face opposition.

“So not everybody agrees with us,” Trump told Neville. “I know how you stand, and a lot of people do agree with us. But I think we need hardened sites. We need to let people know: You come into our schools, you’re going to be dead, and it’s going to be fast. And unless you do that, you’re going to always have this problem.”

Neville referred to the Columbine shooting spree when he said the two gunmen nearly exploded “two propane tanks that were supposed to be a bomb that [was] going to go off. By the grace of God, that didn’t happen. But there are other ways that people can commit these atrocious acts.”

Neville was a sophomore at Columbine High School during the shootings.

He recommended wider use of Colorado’s Safe2Tell program operated by the state attorney general’s office. It is an anonymous tip line for students and others to report threats, bullying, crime and potential suicides in schools.

Safe2Tell received 1,321 tips in January, according to the attorney general’s office.

Trump estimated that 10 percent to 40 percent of teachers could be qualified to carry concealed guns. In return, they should received “a little bit of a bonus,” he said.

Eight states allow teachers to carry concealed guns.

Trump’s ideas for arming teachers were harshly criticized by groups representing educators. They included the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers.

The teachers union for Florida’s Broward County, where the Parkland shootings took place, issued a statement saying teachers are not trained for “split-second, life-or-death choices, and evaluating if a shot can be taken without harming innocent children with friendly fire.”

National Education Association President Lily Eskelsen García said, “Bringing more guns into our schools does nothing to protect our students and educators from gun violence. Our students need more books, art and music programs, nurses and school counselors. They do not need more guns in their classrooms. Parents and educators overwhelmingly reject the idea of arming school staff.”

Trump has been under pressure since the Parkland shootings to seek tougher gun restrictions. Instead, he has embraced a National Rifle Association proposal for more guns in schools if they are carried by educators or guards with concealed carry permits.

He predicted gun rights advocates would support moves to raise the legal age restriction on gun purchases from 18 years old to 21 years old. Trump also wants more intensive background checks of gun purchasers.

Other state and local leaders at the White House meeting included Parkland Mayor Christine Huncschofsky and Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi.