Why Rep. Rick Larsen wants $150M more for schools

He doesn’t want to see teachers carrying guns in schools, but what Washington Rep. Rick Larsen does want is to fund additional safety.

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Larsen, a Democrat, and Republican Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Illinois) announced a bipartisan letter requesting $150 million for Secure Our Schools grants for next month’s funding bill. The funding would go to state and local governments to help increase safety measures in schools.

On the Jason Rantz Show, Larsen says the goal isn’t to tell schools what to do. It’s to provide them with money for what they think is important.

“Last week, Andrew Pollack, the parent of Meadow, a student killed at Marjory Stoneman High School, passionately reminded all of us that we have failed as a country to protect our schools and we must work together to keep our children safe. Helping schools increase safety is something we believe Congress should be able to agree on and it is something we can address right now to help prevent another tragedy. That is why we are asking for $150 million for the Secure Our Schools program, nine times the amount of money that has ever been appropriated,” a statement reads.

Larsen says the argument for arming teachers is a bad one. Schools can hire resource officers. Plus, an active shooter situation requires much more training than simply going to a gun range, he says.

“This isn’t a matter of pulling out a gun and shooting someone,” he told Rantz.

Listen to the entire interview here.

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