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TOPEKA — Kansas senators are split once again over a bill requiring the Kansas State Board of Education to initiate a National Rifle Association gun safety program for all elementary and middle school students.
The debate Monday in the Senate Federal and State Affairs committee mirrored past years for the most part but took on new significance in light of a shooting earlier this month at Olathe East High School, where the gunman, an administrator and a school resource officer were injured. While supporters of the bill say the Eddie Eagle program would help prevent incidents like these, opponents called the hearing tone deaf.
A legislator representing the Olathe area said more students and faculty wanted to testify regarding the bill, but wounds were still fresh.
Sen. Rob Olson, R-Olathe, defended the timing, noting the initial hearing on the bill was initially canceled but rescheduled for Monday.
Olathe North junior Aarushi Pore was the lone student to testify, and she told senators her classmates are scared, even at a neighboring school. She said lawmakers should instead focus on a comprehensive review of state gun laws.
“We need to promote effective curriculums that actually target the issue at hand and actually reach a message to children, not the NRA program, which teachers and students like me and my peers do not want in our schools,” Pore said while challenging the efficacy of the Eddie Eagle program.
A 2004 study from the American Academy of Pediatrics found the program was ineffective. Nevertheless, Kansas legislators passed similar legislation last year but did not attempt to override a subsequent veto by Gov. Laura Kelly.
The bill mandates the state Board of Education develop curriculum and guidelines for schools to use the NRA’s Eddie Eagle training program or a program that is deemed to be a suitable equivalent. Older students would undergo a hunter safety program created by the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks.
The NRA has argued the initiative does not advocate for or against firearm use, nor does it use real or fake guns.
“It’s about teaching kids that if they see a firearm or they find a firearm, do not touch it,” said Jason Watkins, with the Kansas State Rifle Association. “Get away from it and go find an adult. We are teaching that to all our young people on a regular basis, so this is common sense.”
Historically, the Kansas State Board of Education has opposed the Eddie Eagle bill because it would infringe on the board’s right to set educational standards free from legislative interference.
Sen. Alicia Straub, R-Ellinwood, expressed personal concerns with the number of educators testifying in opposition to the bill.
“I don’t as a parent necessarily want an anti-gun teacher imposing their views on my child,” Straub said. “I think it’s important to teach kids that firearms are not bad; bad people are bad.”
Still, critics said the idea was an improper response in light of the shooting and would not accomplish the meaningful action needed to quell concerns of Kansas families. Sen. Cindy Holscher, a Democrat whose son was in class at Olathe East when the shooting took place, introduced legislation to ban so-called ghost guns.
According to Johnson County District Attorney Steve Howe in an interview with KSHB 41, the shooter allegedly used one of these untraceable firearms put together from a kit. Howe has called on the Legislature to help curb the use of these weapons.
“I’m a big Second Amendment person, but ghost guns (are) really only being operated by unlawful individuals who shouldn’t be having firearms,” Howe said. “I think that’s something we’re going to take from this is that those types of firearms should be stopped.”
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