Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer
School violence in Baltimore City has reinvigorated debate over a House Bill that would authorize school police officers to carry loaded guns throughout the school day.
“I think there are positives and negatives to having someone armed in a school,” said Andrew Pollack, who formerly worked with Prince George’s County police officers.
An armed police officer could defend students and faculty in the case of an active shooter, Pollack reasoned. On the other hand, he asked what if a cop was overpowered by assailants and his gun taken from him? This could pose a deadly threat instead of being a positive solution to the problem, he said.
The Baltimore City School Board is deliberating whether to support the proposal, known as House Bill 1373. In January, the vote was “No” to a bill sponsored by Del. Cheryl D. Glenn. But on Feb. 26, the School Board Commissioners voted 8-2 to support legislation that would amend state law to authorize arming police officers in school. The city legislators were reacting to a recent shooting at Frederick Douglass High School.
Baltimore is the only city in the state with its own police force, local police and other police assigned to schools in various counties are allowed to carry their weapons on school grounds.
Opinions for and against the idea are strong.
“The only thing that can stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun,” said Wayne LaPierre of the National Rifle Association.
LaPierre explained that schools can be seen as a target to predators who wish to harm those who are unable to fight back. As a Second Amendment activist group, he said the NRA is constantly lobbying in Congress for laws that will ensure an armed police officer or school staff member will be in every school in America.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland said, “Baltimore City legislators must vote NO on House Bill 1383 once and for all.”
“Guns in schools is not the answer,” said Dana Vickers Shelley, executive director of Maryland’s ACLU. “The presence of guns… negatively impacts the children’s ability to learn, and do not keep children safer.”
The concern is that arming the police and giving them more power in these communities follows a disturbing national trend that the ACLU wants stopped, said Shelley.
Glenn said that she could not move forward without local support. The debate is ongoing with future House sessions planned to decide on the fate of the bill.
“The positive is that an armed police officer is a big deterrent to would be attackers,” Pollack said. “A well trained and capable officer whose duty is to defend a school could save lives.”
Baltimore City is no stranger to violence and specifically gun violence. While shootings in schools are rare, the culture of violence with guns is rampant. Nearly 88 percent of all murders in the city are committed with firearms.