Republican lawmakers have offered their thoughts and prayers, they’ve talked hypothetically about gun legislation they might maybe be willing to consider at some point, they’ve dragged their feet and hoped the issue would go away. But it’s not going away, and so House Republicans are going to Do Something. If by do something you mean throw a little money at “school safety” to avoid the issue of guns:
At a news conference following a regular weekly meeting of GOP lawmakers, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) said a bipartisan bill dealing with school security would get a vote next week.
“This is students, teachers, officers, preventing school violence,” McCarthy said, detailing the acronym for the STOP School Violence Act of 2018, which is backed by Rep. John Rutherford (R-FL) and Rep Ted Deutch (D-FL).
The plan would authorize $50 million in federal grants to be offered to local school systems to help improve efforts at training and detecting possible threats to schools.
House Republicans would also like credit for having passed a bill improving the federal background check system … along with allowing national concealed carry. But universal background checks, an assault weapons ban, age limits? Republicans aren’t having it. They’re hoping that if they pass this school safety bill, they can blunt the momentum for real change. Don’t let them get away with it.