Shortly after the Newtown, Connecticut massacre of schoolchildren, Attorney General Tom Horne proposed his idea of allowing a school's "principal or another designee" access to a gun on school grounds, in case of an emergency.
Now that the bill's been submitted at the Legislature by Republican Representative David Stevens, we can see exactly who would have access to a gun around children: just about anyone.
See also:
-Tom Horne Wants Gun Access for One Trained Official at Each School
Specifically, the bill calls for "a school district or charter school employee who has been approved and designated by the school district governing board..."
So, it could be someone other than the principal or other administrative staff. The school psychologist could be the one with access to the school firearm. Or, it could be the janitor -- or the lunch lady.
There's really no restriction on which employees would be pegged as the only person in the school with access to a firearm, just in case a gunman came in shooting.
Of course, we should mention that House Bill 2656 calls for a background check, warrants check, and check of criminal history -- but not for the person with access to the gun. That only applies to the people who will be instructing the potential gun-holder for the program, which would be run for the Attorney General's office.
Above all, the program would be optional, according to the bill's language. However, it still doesn't sound like the greatest of ideas, as our colleague Ray Stern already poked some holes in the plan when Horne announced it.
The text of the bill can be found here.
