In the wake of a transgender man’s massacre of six students and faculty at a Christian school in Nashville, Sen. Rick Scott advocates that the federal government make funding available for armed security at religious schools.
“Following the horrific shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, I fought hard as governor to make sure there were more armed officers in our schools,” the Florida Republican said in a statement. “Today, every public school in Florida has an armed police officer, sheriff’s deputy, or an individual who has completed the rigorous training provided through our Guardian Program.”
“These brave public servants are in our schools to keep our kids and teachers safe from the evil that we’ve seen far too often across America,” the senator added in comments made on Thursday. “The tragedy in Nashville made clear that more must be done to keep our schools safe.”
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Scott then said that in coming days he would release new legislation to allow states to draw down federal dollars for grants so religious schools could hire armed guards.
“Washington spends money on all sorts of wasteful ideas and the massive expansion of the IRS is a prime example of that. We need to put the dollars we spend to good use,” said Scott.
He argued that Washington should “absolutely” redirect money to cover block grants for states so they can boost school security at every school, “and keep kids safe.”
“I cannot stress enough that this funding should be available to ALL schools,” Scott continued.
He noted that as governor, after Jewish Days Schools in Florida faced an “influx” of violent threats, the state specifically allocated money to make these schools more secure.
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“Our religious schools need to be protected, and that is why my legislation will make sure it allows all schools to use these dollars,” Scott concluded.
“I will be filing a bill on this soon and I look forward to my colleagues in the Senate giving it their support.”
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