State lawmakers and other public officials who gathered Monday to discuss school safety in light of deadly mass shootings across the nation praised each other for past legislation and managed to avoid using the word “gun” for almost exactly one hour.
Not until 2:31 p.m. in the joint meeting the House and Senate Education committees that started just after 1:30 p.m. did a legislator — a Democratic one — speak the word “gun.”
Rep. Megan Godfrey (D-Springdale) almost tip-toed into the topic but finally said that, despite all the safety measures the state has asked schools to take, no gun-safety measures had been mentioned.
“I feel like it’s disrespectful for our students not to look” at gun safety, Godfrey said.
Cheryl May, director of the Arkansas Center for School Safety and the Arkansas Criminal Justice Institute, clearly wasn’t going to take on the Republican legislators or the gun lobby and replied that she has “not had that conversation” with national leaders in the school-safety movement.
Sen. Joyce Elliott (D-Little Rock) suggested that the source of “all the violence we see coming to our schools” is from the communities the schools serve.
Elliott said communities, not just schools, must look at themselves to see if they have the quality of life and the jobs that residents need to help reduce violence.
“We don’t get guns in schools and shooters in schools from Mars,” Elliott said. “It comes right from the communities.”
Elliott, a retired teacher, said it grieves her that the state is putting so much burden on the schools to solve problems that begin outside them.
“A clearinghouse seems … important. How do we not have to turn our schools into fortresses” where teachers and students most “be prepared for everything?” Elliott asked.
Sen. Missy Irvin, committee co-chairwoman and R-Mountain View, suggested that society should take better advantage of the juvenile justice system. “There are opportunities to use technology, but we have to spend the money to do it,” Irvin said.
No one mentioned that juvenile court hearings are closed to the public and the results of those hearings, with few exceptions, are not a matter of public record that just anyone can access.
Rep. Stephen Meeks (R-Greenbrier) sought to bring the solution back to the schools and noted that a number of school districts have chosen to arm some teachers and other staff members.
“I think it becomes a huge deterrent” to someone walking into a school building to shoot people if that person knows adults inside are armed, Meeks said.
He also wanted to know if schools in Arkansas are having “active shooter training” exercises.
“A lot are doing this,” May replied.
Sen. Kim Hammer (R-Benton) made a point to mention that back when he was in high school in the 1970s, it wouldn’t have been uncommon to see a pickup loaded with guns parked behind the school. So, he asked May, what’s changed?
“We’ve got a generation of kids who grew up having school shootings being a reality for them,” May replied. As for why, May said she didn’t have the answer.
Co-chairman Rep. Bruce Cozart (R-Hot Springs) bemoaned the decline of family values and said he was “excited” that a school district has invited him to attend a shooter-response training.
Irvin closed the session by assuring the public that “We are going to do everything in our power here in Arkansas” to keep our children safe.
Well, maybe not everything.
