The National Rifle Association (NRA) unveiled a report that recommends employing an armed security officer – as well as any willing teachers - to every school in the country as anti-gun groups assail the plan.
The 225-page ‘National School Shield Initiative’, announced by
former Republican Congressman Asa Hutchinson at a press conference
on Tuesday, puts forward eight recommendations it says would
bolster school security nationwide.
The suggestions in the report include a special training program
that would prepare school resource officers (SRO) how to respond in
crisis situations, changes in state laws that would permit SROs to
carry firearms on school property, enhanced coordination between
law enforcement agencies and schools on security issues, and
federal and NRA-sponsored resources to facilitate those
requirements.
The single recommendation that has triggered outrage among the
anti-gun crowd – coming as it does after the Sandy Hook school
shooting, which claimed 26 lives, 20 of them children - is that
armed security officers would be stationed inside of every
school.
Hutchinson defended that position, saying that the presence of
armed school personnel would reduce the number of fatalities and
casualties.
"We looked at the technology of the schools, we looked at the
interior and an exterior doors, access controls, architecture and
design of the schools. And then we look at the armed officers
whether it's an SRO, which is a school resource officer, to the
staff that may be armed or considering being armed," he said.
"And obviously, we believe they make a difference in the various
layers of security that add to school safety."
The report also envisions allowing school teachers to carry guns in
the classroom - but only those who express an interest in being
qualified for such a responsibility.
"Let me emphasize, this is not talking about all teachers,"
he said. "Teachers should teach. But if there is a personnel
that has good experience and has an interest in it, and is willing
to go through this training of, again, 40 to 60 hours that is
totally comprehensive, then that is an appropriate resource that a
school should be able to utilize."
Hutchinson cited the report’s findings, saying that SROs would be
required to undergo 40-60 hours of training, as well as an
extensive background check. He estimated the cost of the nationwide
program at about $800-1,000 per person. While the report does not
recommend a specific number of armed SROs per school, each should
have “at least one.”
If there armed personnel in the school, it will save lives, he
added.
Although the NRA says that it respected the independence of this
task force in the course of its work, the report’s conclusions
mirror those of Wayne LaPierre, the NRA's chief executive and
executive vice president, who made an emotional plea for armed
guards in America’s schools.
"If it's crazy to call for putting police and armed security in
our schools to protect our children, then call me crazy,"
LaPierre said in an interview on NBC's Meet the Press. "I think
the American people think it's crazy not to do it. It's the one
thing that would keep people safe."
“The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with
a gun," he added.
Laura Murphy, director of the ACLU's Washington Legislative Office,
said in a statement that the proposal "includes potentially radical
elements, including getting the federal government in the business
of supplying arms to teachers, without any evidence that doing so
would make children safer."
"It is important to create a culture of trust between students
and teachers, and arming teachers is the antithesis of that,
especially in the 19 states where corporal punishment is still
allowed in schools," Murphy said. "We are concerned about
the potential civil liberties implications this proposal could have
for students, who all too often are funneled from schools into the
criminal justice system. We hope the NRA addresses these concerns
and that Congress will reject any proposal that militarizes our
schools."
In the aftermath of Sandy Hook, President Barack Obama pledged gun
control legislation would be a "central issue" of his second term.
The suggested measures include an assault weapons ban, a ban on
high-capacity magazines, and universal background checks for gun
owners.
Those measures, however, have come up against a formidable wall of
opposition from Republican lawmakers, many of whom advocate
strongly on behalf of the NRA.
The move by the White House also sparked massive hoarding of
weapons.
The latest figures released by the FBI show that 2,495,440 routine
background checks were performed in January of this year. That is
the second-highest number since records began in 1998, and is
exceeded only by the numbers for December 2012, which it hit a peak
of 2,783,765.
Meanwhile, amid this heated national debate, the NRA says it hasn't
yet decided on its position regarding the report’s findings.
"We need time to digest the full report," the NRA said in a
statement. "We commend Asa Hutchinson for his rapid response in
the aftermath of the Newtown tragedy, and we are certain the
contributions he and his team have made will go a long way to
making America's schools safer."