MADISON— Following the recent school shooting in Ulvade, Texas in which 21 innocent lives were lost, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos has renewed his support for arming educators, thus creating a confining, prisonlike school setting. Speaker Vos recently stated that putting more guns in schools could further respond to a whole array of problems, including sexual assaults and other crimes. Legislative Democrats and Gov. Evers have long demanded action be taken to enact commonsense gun reform. Their efforts – including the governor’s call for a Special Session on Gun Reform during the 2019-2020 legislative session – have all been rejected by Republican leadership. Rep. Sondy Pope (D-Mt. Horeb) released the following statement in response to Speaker Vos’ call to arm educators:
“This is an ill-conceived and ridiculous idea that could play out very poorly in any number of situations. Educators cannot seriously be expected to shoulder this responsibility while Republican lawmakers sit idly by allowing these tragedies to continue. We need to implement reasonable policies that will actually protect our students and make both schools and our communities much safer.
“As we elected officials take turns offering thoughts and prayers while calling on our Republican colleagues to take up meaningful reforms that we know they will continue to ignore, we must not allow ourselves to believe that we are powerless to end the senseless carnage taking place across our nation.
“The general election in November delivers the perfect opportunity to remove from power the very people who refuse to save the children in schools, the everyday people out shopping for groceries, and the victims simply participating in worship services. Together, citizens have the power to make our state and country—and especially our schools – safer for future generations. The ballot box is our most effective tool for creating the change we wish to see. Your votes are powerful, and can save innocent lives.”
