GOP proposes school safety laws in response to mass shootings

WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – Lawmakers are debating ways to prevent more mass shootings. While Democrats push for gun control, Republicans are directing their efforts toward school safety.

One of the proposals on the table is from Rep. Richard Hudson, a Republican from North Carolina.

“The American people want us to do something,” Hudson said. “House Republicans have said we want to do something that matters.”

He introduced legislation that would spend $7 billion of COVID relief money to fund school safety measures. That would include school resource officers, guidance counselors and active shooter training.

“Let’s look at hardening schools. Let’s look at – how do we intervene with kids in trouble. Imagine if we intervened with this Uvalde shooter before he dropped out of high school,” Hudson said.

Republicans like Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana say House Democrats are unwilling to come to the table to talk about their school safety proposals.

“Instead of that, all we see is a rush to go take away the rights of law-abiding citizens to have guns,” Scalise said.

Many Republicans on the Senate side are echoing the same calls for action to secure schools and improve mental health services. One of the solutions Sen. Ted Cruz is advocating for is for schools to only have one secure entrance.

“To harden our schools, to make them safer, to protect the most vulnerable,” Cruz, R-Texas, said. “Think of it the same way you see at a bank or a federal court house or a government building where there’s often one entrance. And having armed law enforcement at that entrance.”

Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., calls suggestions like that absurd.

“Those are, frankly, lies and they don’t address the seriousness of the tragedy,” Warner said.

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., says Democrats want to see a more wholistic approach.

“School resource officers can be positive but they don’t fundamentally address the crisis of gun violence that we have,” Kaine said.