Contact: Courtney Beyer, [email protected]
Will Schimel consider letting taxpayer money fund gun purchases for schools?
MADISON — NRA-backed Brad Schimel, who suggested arming teachers in the wake of the Parkland, Florida mass shooting, has not said whether or not he would use federal taxpayer dollars to buy guns for teachers under a new plan being considered by Betsy DeVos.
“It says everything you need to know about Brad Schimel that instead of considering common sense gun safety reforms supported by the majority of Wisconsinites, he’d rather use taxpayer dollars to arm our teachers,” said Martha Laning, chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. “Our teachers and educators do so much for our kids already, but to expect them to also carry a deadly weapon is absurd. This is an extreme, poorly thought out idea that will only put our kids at heightened risk.”
In the wake of the Parkland school shooting, the Wisconsin legislature passed funding for school safety grants to help schools fund security improvements. Currently, the grants cannot be used by schools to buy guns, but after DeVos’s move, will Brad Schimel consider letting taxpayer money fund arms purchases, too?
As he’s administered the safety grants, Brad Schimel has shown little interest in actually making Wisconsin classrooms safer; he has intentionally delayed and spaced out administration of the grants in order to garner media attention, leaving schools little if any time to implement actual reforms before classes begin.
“Brad Schimel seems to have forgotten that it’s his job to keep Wisconsinites safe, not force the NRA’s agenda on Wisconsin taxpayers,” added Laning. “Voters are tired of Schimel’s misplaced priorities, and in November, they will elect an attorney general who doesn’t play politics with our kids’ safety.”
