Yesterday evening, I appeared on “Relentless” with Dana Loesch on NRATV. I discussed how Attorney General Mark Herring issuing out an original authority opinion calling armed teachers in Lee County “unlawful” is dangerous. I also discussed the repercussions of this OAO with Dana and why it hurts the Commonwealth.
You can watch the appearance here.
Here’s the gist of the situation from my piece up at The Resurgent:
Herring‘s office released this statement in a news release (bold, Italics for emphasis):
“Our kids deserve a safe, secure learning environment when they come to school, and adding guns and armed, unqualified personnel to our classrooms is incompatible with that goal,” said Attorney General Herring. “The law already provides several options for employing armed security personnel with full law enforcement training, but the law doesn’t allow for the arming of unqualified personnel, and for good reason. The introduction of unqualified personnel with guns raises the likelihood of a tragic accident, or potentially catastrophic confusion during an emergency. That’s why the overwhelming majority of teachers—those who know the school environment best—oppose arming teachers. For five years in a row the General Assembly rejected specific proposals to arm teachers, so there’s really no ambiguity. I hope all of us who care about the safety and success of our students—school boards, teachers, parents, legislators, law enforcement, and more—can continue working together to make our schools safe and welcoming places for our young people to learn.”
AG Herring’s reasoning couldn’t be more tone deaf. CHP holders are unqualified and dangerous? Then our state’s top lawyer must not be familiar with Virginia gun laws and those who work in law enforcement—especially those law enforcement members who support the CHP process here.
The document suggests it’s unlawful for CHP holders, particularly those who are law-abiding, to carry on campus. Moreover, the official authority opinion says Virginia law permits school resource officers (SRO) and certain security officers to possess firearms, but that clause doesn’t extend to teachers and administrators. The official authority opinion concluded with this:
“Virginia law expressly limits who may possess firearms on school grounds for safety purposes, and the General Assembly declined to enact bills presented every year from 2013 through 2017 to extend this authority to school teachers and administrators. The General Assembly has provided ways for schools to employ security personnel deemed to have met stringent training requirements who may possess firearms on school grounds in the execution of their duties as school safety personnel; however, these security personnel do not include armed SCOPs. For the reasons set forth above, I conclude that the Department of Criminal Justice Services cannot lawfully issue a temporary or valid registration for armed SCOPs with jurisdiction over public school grounds.”
Herring’s official authority opinion will do little to bolster school safety measures.
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What did you think of this piece? Am I on-target or off-mark?
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