The New Jersey teachers union endorsed a state Assembly bill that would turn schools and surrounding areas into gun-free zones.
Though the Assembly approved more than 20 gun-related bills recently, the New Jersey Education Association (NJEA) will back only three of them. In addition to creating more gun-free zones, the teachers union also supports a bill that prohibits the state from investing pension funds in gun companies, and another establishing a task force to study school security.
NJEA Vice President Wendell Steinhauer called the legislation “common sense.”
“It creates weapon-free zones around schools, day care centers and other public places,” he said in a statement. “That sends a strong message that children must be shielded from the threat of gun violence, and gives law enforcement the ability to better protect them.”
Creating gun-free zones is a popular, albeit controversial, response to the threat of violence in schools. Larry Pratt, executive director of Gun Owners of America, gave a talk Monday arguing the zones actually endanger kids.
“We now have good reason to think that many of these mass murders occurred because they were in so-called ‘gun-free zones,’” Pratt said, according to Red Alert Politics.
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