Virginia House Dems Issue Own Report on School Safety: “We cannot ignore the role of firearms in mass school shootings, nor should we avoid our responsibility as legislators to act”

Virginia House Democrats have issued their own report on school safety with “their own ideas — like making it harder for kids to get a hold of guns — that they say weren’t considered by a committee tasked with improving school safety.” See below for that report, which among other things says:

• “Most of the committee’s preliminary recommendations have merit and will likely enjoy bipartisan support. Our view, however, is that we must go further. We believe the Select Committee should adopt goals to be achieved over time, including increasing access to school counselors, and the General Assembly should pursue proactive measures to ensure troubled students do not have ready access to dangerous firearms.“
• “We firmly believe that adding other staff positions, without a net gain in counselors, is insufficient to address the extremely high caseload”
• “We cannot ignore the role of firearms in mass school shootings, nor should we avoid our responsibility as legislators to act. We believe the proposals from several Minority Members to be common-sense reforms that place simple controls on the ways minors can use and access firearms. Yet, the committee refused to even discuss a proposal we made to create ‘risk warrants’ or special protective orders for minors. “
• “We acknowledge the intensity of the debate surrounding gun violence prevention, but we cannot reach solutions without engaging in a bi- partisan discourse –  especially when it is a matter of children’s safety.”
• “Virginia should impose civil and/or criminal liability for improper storage of a handgun or other weapon which allows a minor access to the weapon. Virginia’s CAP laws are among the weakest in the nation, only giving criminal liability toadults who deliberately and recklessly grant a minor access to a weapon.”