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Joe Schiavoni Lays Out Plan to Help Prevent School Shootings
in Ohio
Last week, Senator
Joe Schiavoni,
candidate for Ohio governor, released the following
statement detailing his plan to help prevent school
shootings and protect Ohio students:
"On Wednesday, just a couple weeks into February, the
United States experienced yet another school shooting. 17
individuals – many of them young people – lost their lives
inside their classrooms. All they did was go to school.
"As a parent, I can’t comprehend the pain those families are
experiencing. It's made even worse when I wonder if
something could have been done to prevent this tragedy.
"I firmly believe in our Second Amendment right to own
firearms, but our kids trust us to keep them safe from evils
like this. At least six school shootings in the first two
months of 2018 means something isn’t working.
"No more vague tweets. No more empty condolences. Elected
officials need to take action. Here’s what I’m going to do:
1.) I have now twice introduced a bill to fund
increased safety measures in schools. Both times, my GOP
colleagues in the Statehouse failed to pass it. I will be
reintroducing that bill in the next few days. This time,
we’re going to get it passed.
2.) We are sitting down with policy experts,
firearms experts, advocacy groups, law enforcement, and
others to write legislation that would strengthen background
checks in Ohio and help stop individuals with severe mental
health issues from obtaining firearms. We will examine
potential gun show, pawn shop, and internet loopholes in the
law.
3.) We are sitting down with policy experts,
firearms experts, advocacy groups, law enforcement, and
others to write legislation to increase regulations on AR-15
style firearms. AR-15s are easily adaptable, highly
accurate, and have been used in several of the deadliest
mass shootings in recent months. They shouldn’t be so easily
accessible. Individuals who want to own these firearms
should be required to complete regular trainings, pay
additional fees, and pass thorough background checks. These
changes would help limit the number of AR-15 style weapons
sold in Ohio, but would still allow responsible Ohioans to
go through a process to own them.
4.) I am calling for the state to work with
communities to fund and expand wraparound service models in
Ohio schools. These types of education models are used in
several schools across the state to great success. They help
us provide mental health care, skills training, physical
health services, and after-school programs for children
and parents in the community. If we can provide
holistic care at every level of a child's development, we
can catch some of the warning signs early and work to
prevent future tragedies.
"Basic safety measures do not infringe on anyone’s rights.
We will never stop all of these tragedies, but we can stop
some. And every child spared is worth it."
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