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Betsy DeVos on Gun Control
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Let states decide on gun training in schools
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos says she has "no intention" of taking action against schools using federal grant money to purchase guns--a decision that leaves it up to states to decide how such funding should be used and that infuriated gun-safety
advocates.DeVos disclosed her position in an Aug. 31 letter to Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA), following the news that the Education Department was considering a proposal to allow school districts to use federal funds known as Student Support and Academic
Enrichment grants for guns and gun-training.
The grants give states "substantial flexibility" on how school districts should use the funds, and federal officials do not have the authority to tell them how the money should be spent,
DeVos said in her letter. "Therefore, I will not take any action that would expand or restrict the responsibilities and flexibilities granted to State and local educational agencies by Congress."
Source: NBC News' Suzy Khimm on 2018 Trump Administration
, Sep 4, 2018
Schools should have the option to arm teachers
Trump administration officials reviewed federal academic enrichment grants to see if the money can be used to procure firearms. The plan prompted swift condemnation from Democratic lawmakers and many educators, who accused the Trump administration of
wanting to deprive students of much-needed mental health support and other resources in the interests of the National Rifle Association.Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, who chairs a federal commission on school safety, has previously said that
schools should have the option to arm teachers. The commission, formed in the aftermath of the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, that killed 17 people, has been criticized for omitting the topic of gun control.
Nearly six years have
passed since the shooting here in Connecticut, at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, where 20 students and six faculty and staff members were killed in December 2012.
Source: NECN on 2018 Trump Administration
, Aug 22, 2018
Let local schools decide about guns in school
On guns in school: Asked by Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) on whether she thought "guns have any place in or around schools," DeVos answered that the issue was "best left for locales and states to decide."
In January 2016, Trump pledged to end gun-free zones in schools and military bases, telling a crowd, "I will get rid of gun-free zones on schools -- you have to --
and on military bases on my first day. It gets signed my first day.
You know what a gun-free zone is to a sicko? That's bait." Asked whether she supported Trump's proposal to end gun-free zones, DeVos replied, "I will support what the president-elect does."
Source: Ballotpedia.org: 2017 Trump transition confirmation hearings
, Jan 18, 2017
Page last updated: Oct 10, 2020