JEFFERSON CITY — Democrats running for the US Senate in Missouri said Wednesday they’d support ending the filibuster to approve firearms regulations in the wake of a school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, on Tuesday.
“I’d vote to end the filibuster so we can actually pass universal background checks and keep weapons of war they had us carry in Iraq and Afghanistan out of the hands of people who want to kill our children and turn our schools into war zones, ” Lucas Kunce, Democrat for US Senate, said in a statement on Wednesday.
Trudy Busch Valentine, one of his competitors in the Aug. 2 Democratic primary, echoed Kunce’s position in a statement: “The American people overwhelmingly support common sense gun legislation: universal background checks, closing loopholes, and restricting the sale of military-style assault weapons, but career politicians and the gun lobby continue to stand in the way.
“In the Senate I will be a leader on this issue and will support efforts to end the filibuster in order to pass meaningful gun legislation,” she said.
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Their comments followed expressions of sympathy Tuesday following the mass shooting at the Ross Elementary School in Uvalde, in which a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers.
Gov. Mike Parson, a Republican, on Tuesday said he and first lady Teresa Parson “are deeply saddened to hear of the tragic news out of Uvalde, Texas. We are praying for the victims’ families and friends and that they may find strength and peace in such a difficult time,” he said.
Kelli Jones, spokeswoman for Parson, did not immediately respond to questions about what the state was doing to prevent mass shootings in Missouri, and whether more needed to be done.
Asked what she would do to prevent mass shootings, a spokesman for US Rep. Vicky Hartzler, R-Harrisonville, said she recently introduced the “Police Officers Protecting Children Act,” which would “allow off-duty and retired law enforcement officers to carry a concealed firearm while in a school zone if a local school passes a policy allowing it,” her campaign spokesman said.
“This added layer of security for schoolchildren is important in rural areas because it allows for a quicker response to help local law enforcement,” Dallas Ernst, spokesman for the campaign, said.
“We also need to do more to instill in our kids a culture that values and respects life,” he said.
Police fired at the Uvalde shooter, but he entered the school anyway, the Washington Post reported.
No other Republican Senate candidates immediately responded to questions about what they would do to prevent mass shootings if elected.
mixed reaction
While some Republicans running for Senate expressed sympathy for the slain children Tuesday on Twitter, others didn’t.
Attorney General Eric Schmitt didn’t. Nor did US Rep. Billy Long, St. Louis attorney Mark McCloskey or Missouri Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz, all Republicans running in the Aug. 2 GOP primary for Senate.
“Absolutely heartbreaking news out of Uvalde, Texas,” former Gov. Eric Greitens tweeted. “An unthinkable act of evil carried out against innocent children & teachers. May God provide their families with peace and strength in the days, weeks, and months ahead.
“Missouri & the nation are grieving with Texas tonight,” Greitens said.
Hartzler also expressed sympathy on social media Tuesday.
“Today’s horrific and senseless tragedy in Texas is simply pure evil,” she said. “These victims were elementary students, a teacher, and a grandmother. Lowell and I — alongside the entire state of Missouri — are praying for all those lost and their loved ones.”
Busch Valentine issued a statement on Twitter on Tuesday.
“I was blessed with a new grandson today. It is unimaginable to me that he, or any child in America, has to fear dying from gun violence,” she said. “I’m heartbroken for those who lost their children today in Uvalde, TX. I will fight with everything in me to bring an end to this violence.”
“I shouldn’t have to tell my kids that their classroom could become a war zone at a moment’s notice. This is a choice,” Kunce said on Twitter.
Prevention
In Missouri, funding for school safety programs has been on a roller coaster in recent years.
In 2020, as part of a response to the growing economic havoc in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, Parson slashed $450 million from the budget, including $300,000 for a school safety program.
The money was eventually restored, but the reduction put Missouri dead last in terms of spending on school safety, which aims to prepare schools for active shooters, sexual predators and other threats to children.
In 2021, the state funded the program at $300,000.
And, in the state’s upcoming budget, lawmakers have added to the pot, putting $1 million toward the Missouri Center for Education Safety, which is operated by the Missouri School Boards’ Association — a $700,000 increase.
“We’re hopeful it gets signed by the governor,” MSBA Executive Director Melissa Randol said Wednesday.
The added money will help the center expand its training for school safety in school districts and will put an added focus on counseling programs that could help prevent shootings from occurring in the first place.
“It’s a move in the right direction,” Randol said. “This tragedy reminds us again we have to make this a priority.”
There is also language in the budget for the Department of Public Safety to launch a program giving police the ability to be alerted if an armed intruder is in a school building.
In 2019, Parson released a blueprint for improving safety in Missouri schools that was the work of a special task force agreed by the governor in the wake of the 2018 deadly school shooting in Parkland, Florida.
The task force called for every school to have an armed law enforcement officer. The panel also recommended the state offer a set of standards for conducting drills and exercises.
“Often drills are conducted without a clear understanding by all parties involved of what is being tested or evaluated, and little to no documentation of the results to help correct deficiencies,” the report said.
Missouri launched the School Violence Hotline in 2001. In 2019, it was renamed Courage2ReportMO, according to the state.
The state asks that any “treat to life” at school or on a school bus — including physical assault, planned school attacks and human trafficking — be reported to the hotline.
Its phone number is 1-866-748-7047. Reports can also be made online.
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George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism