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Bill Allowing Guns In Schools Clears First Committee
March 28, 2013
A bill that would allow for designated employees to carry guns at Florida schools began moving Wednesday, overwhelmingly passing its first House committee after an emotionally-charged debate.
The measure (HB 1097) passed the House K-12 Subcommittee on a bipartisan, 10-3 vote. But it has three more committee stops left before the bill can move to the floor, and similar legislation in the Senate (SB 1418) has yet to be heard.
Under the proposal, sponsored by Rep. Greg Steube, R-Sarasota, school principals would be allowed to designate someone who could carry a firearm at his or her school as long as that individual goes through statewide firearms training and the same training required for armed guards.
Steube stressed to the committee that the principal’s decision would be voluntary.
“I’ve talked to some principals that don’t feel comfortable doing it and they’re not going to do it in their schools, and that’s fine,” he said. “But there are a lot of principals out there that want to utilize something like this to know that there’s somebody there that can react to a situation if a situation presented itself.”
While much of the national discussion of how to react to the school massacre last year in Newtown, Conn., has centered on gun control and video game or movie violence, Florida lawmakers have largely focused on school safety.
Steube’s bill follows suggestions by conservatives that having armed employees at schools could quickly bring an end to any shooting spree.
“I want my children safe,” said Rep. Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala. “And the reality, in our overwhelming desire to protect our children with gun-free zones, we have inadvertently made them the ideal target — the ideal, sterile target — for a madman.”
But school boards have pushed back against the measure, objecting to the responsibility being given to principals and saying that it could bring liability concerns for districts. Wayne Blanton, executive director of the Florida School Boards Association, said his organization supported police officers at schools.
But he said Steube’s bill was not the answer to concerns about school violence.
“You would send the wrong message to our students, you would send the wrong message to our teachers, you would send the wrong message to our parents and you would send to your communities when you’re telling them that we’re going to arm our teachers,” Blanton said.
By The News Service of Florida
Comments
16 Responses to “Bill Allowing Guns In Schools Clears First Committee”
No no no bad idea look at the violence everyday around the world teachers vrs students students vrs teachers I just dont agree I do agree with an officer at each school that would be great!!! NO GUNS IN SCHOOLS
REGARDING:
“Why do our schools not have web cams in the rooms so parents can watch to make sure our children are acting right.”
Mostly privacy issues.
You could watch your own children but folks throw fits about other people watching THEIR children and it’s hard to do one without doing the other.
Add to it the fact that your local sexual predators (or even distant ones) would love to be able to watch your children too and you would probably not like it to be available for viewing by one and all.
David for safe children
Why do our schools not have web cams in the rooms so parents can watch to make sure our children are acting right.
REGARDING:
“If educators can teach our children how to have safe sex, why can’t they teach them how to safely handle a firearm?”
Consider how poorly some learn those lessons.
And to be honest, they ask them to not have sex while at school, even though some don’t listen to that request either.
David for proper times and places
How did we deal with this problem 40 years ago? Why reinvent the wheel?
Why not use the methods we used back then? They worked very well, why
did we stop using them in the first place?
Why not look at then and now, no problem then, problem now. I suggest identifying the changes that took us from no problem, to the problem we have now and just simply reverse those changes that have given us the present problem. Simple.
This is not a good idea……If this goes I will take all of my children out and before anyone judges please know I am a gun owner and my children know how to use a gun Thats how I was taught but no just because someone is a teacher does not mean they should have a gun really….If somthing is gonna happen it will why not just put a officer in all schools?
I think it should be a requirement for the teachers to carry a gun. After all, when it comes to life or death situations that teacher will gladly use the gun instead of WAITING for the officer to come to her aid. They have more of an opportunity to survive. “The school Personell” will not be interested in teaching your children if there is a killer in view!
Good,trained Officer’s and ex-military vets. sounds good to me. hell lets do it, I would pay a tax for that!!!!! Here is and idea , take the e-cat tax , pull it and put it on protecting children in schools.
To expect teachers and principals to protect our children with guns I feel is beyond their call of duty. Their main concern is the care and education of our prcious children, The answer to protection of our children, is trained, officers, guns on the premises of a school in the hands of anyone other than a trained security guard or police officer is not wise in my opinion, Our teadchers and administrative people have enough to do, the responsibility for a weapon and the use of that weapon is overwelming for the school personell in my opinion.
I think if they could use ex-vets , it would be great, they know how to use a gun and are use to high stress problems. And it is just plain common sense.
“But he said Steube’s bill was not the answer to concerns about school violence.”
Why didn’t the reporter ask Mr. Blanton what the correct answer is? He offers criticisms but no solutions.
The state mandates that our children attend school. The state mandates that we pay taxes to pay for the schools. Therefore the state should be responsible for the safety of our children while they are there.
Many schools used to have shooting clubs. If educators can teach our children how to have safe sex, why can’t they teach them how to safely handle a firearm?Both can kill you if misused and here in rural America, using a firearm is about as natural as the other.
Great Idea, hope it makes it in to a law.
I agree Mr Singleton, My question I would like to ask is that when I was in high school students and faculty carried firearms in their POVs, so as to be able to proceed straight to the hunting grounds after class. We did not harm anyone with those weapons. Here we are 37 years later and all of a sudden this is a problem. The weapons are the same today as they were then, the students and faculty are no different, two arms, two legs, a torso and head, same today as yesterday. The question I would like to ask is WHY if this was not a problem then, WHY is it a problem today? Everything still looks the same today as then, so WHY???l
PLEASE SOMEONE ENLIGHTEN MY IGNORANT SELF.
Well said Paul. There is nothing wrong with State trained teachers being able to carry a firearm. The US Congress needs to stop blaming this on an inaminate object, and realize it’s the crazy person using it! Evil knows no boundaries! Im glad that Rep Steube has taken a stand, and proposing this bill. Im also glad about the bipartisan passage in the Subcomitee.
Great comments Paul, I couldn’t have said it any better!
I don’t understand how not allowing individuals that people want – and more to the point, TRUST – to be responsible for their children to voluntarily carry arms in an attempt to protect them to the utmost of their ability is sending the wrong message? Is that the message that has gotten us into this mess, in that guns are bad and not the people who use guns?
Guns are a tool, simple as that. Same as a ruler or a black board or a car. They have specific uses, one of which is personal defense (and defense of those unable to defend themselves).
Maybe we should change the message to be more along those lines. If kids weren’t being indoctrinated that guns were the root of all evil, I believe fewer of these hype-seeking mass killings would happen, and, should anyone be stupid enough to try it in a school again, they would be met with a wall of lead from well trained teachers willing AND ABLE to fight back!!