The Indiana House Education Committee approved legislation April 2 that would mandate the creation of a protection officer for each school.
(Photo: Alan Petersime, The Indianapolis Star)
We do not believe that more guns make us more safe. If that were the case, then the United States would be the safest country on earth.
— Peg Paulson, Moms Demand Action
Indianapolis Chapter
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A proposal to require a gun-carrying employee in all of Indiana’s public and charter schools seemed on the verge of being dropped by legislators Monday.
The chairman of the House committee currently considering the bill said he expected changes would be made before it advances, while the bill’s main House sponsor signaled he wouldn’t fight to keep the mandate, which was added last week.
The House Ways and Means Committee heard brief testimony Monday and faced a Tuesday deadline to advance the bill to the full House. If the measure goes unchanged, Indiana would become the first state in the country to require armed school employees.
Supporters of the measure say that would lessen the vulnerability of schools to violent attacks such as the December elementary school shooting in Newtown, Conn., in which 20 students and six teachers died. But since the mandate was added, Republican Gov. Mike Pence, Democratic state schools superintendent Glenda Ritz and leaders of Indiana schools and teachers’ organizations have come out against it.
House Ways and Means Chairman Tim Brown, R-Crawfordsville, said Monday afternoon he wasn’t exactly sure what changes would be made to the bill, which also aims to start a state grant program to help school districts buy safety equipment and hire police officers who’ve undergone extra training.
