by Mandy McLaren, Louisville Courier Journal
Hours before Kentucky lawmakers are expected to present bipartisan school safety legislation, a House Republican has filed a bill to that would let people carry guns into schools.
House Bill 30, filed by Rep. Robert Goforth, of East Bernstadt, would scrap most location restrictions for persons with a concealed deadly weapon license, meaning that guns could be carried into day care centers and elementary schools, as well as onto college campuses.
The bill would also abolish current restrictions preventing people with concealed carry licenses from bringing guns into bars and other private businesses. Those with licenses would also be able to bring concealed weapons into meetings of the General Assembly.
Goforth, who joined the General Assembly last February, announced Tuesday that he would seek the Republican nomination for governor this spring. In that announcement, Goforth sought to distance himself from Gov. Matt Bevin, who has not yet filed for re-election, by saying he would lead a GOP ticket of “conservatives of the heart.”
But Goforth’s bill appears in lockstep with Bevin’s stance on guns in schools.
A day after the 2018 high school shooting in Parkland, Florida, that left 17 students and staff dead, Bevin told the Cincinnati Enquirer that guns weren’t the problem. When he went to school in New England, students would bring guns in for show-and-tell, he said.
“Sometimes they’d be in kids’ lockers,” Bevin said. “Nobody even thought about shooting other people with them. So it’s not a gun problem.”
Goforth did not immediately respond on Wednesday morning to requests for comment.
Lawmakers on Wednesday are expected to file a separate bill to help keep kids safe at school.
The legislation is expected to address school infrastructure needs and expand students’ access to mental health resources. But it won’t include gun control measures, according to Sen. Max Wise, a Campbellsville Republican and chairman of the Senate education committee.
Democrats and Republicans on a state working group dealing with school safety have consistently agreed that arming teachers is not a viable solution.
This story is developing and may be updated.
Mandy McLaren: 502-582-4525; [email protected]; Twitter: @mandy_mclaren. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: courier-journal.com/mandym.
