SB 5500 Would Allow Retired WA LEOs to Carry Guns on School Property

[bigtex]

SB 5500 sponsored by Senators Roach, Angel, Bailey, Warnick, Honeyford, Dansel, Parlette, and Padden would allow retired WA law enforcement officers to carry firearms on school grounds.

http://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/biennium/2015-16/Pdf/Bills/Senate%20Bills/5500.pdf

[DOUBLELUNG]

I support it - but I would like to see anyone eligible able to carry concealed allowed to carry on school property.  I believe it would be a net gain in school safety. 

[ctwiggs1]

LOL figures - that has Roach all over it.

[pianoman9701]

Everyone should be allowed.

[ctwiggs1]

agreed

[Special T]

Since the signs dont stop bad guys, may as well let retired cops carry. I agree that anyone with a CC permit shoudl be allowed as well.

[bowbuild]

Voted NO! They wearing a banner when entering school grounds??  :bash:If they won't allow teachers to carry, then ex-cops not easily identified should not be exempt.

[magnanimous_j]

How many people would this bill possibly effect?

[pianoman9701]

Voted NO! They wearing a banner when entering school grounds??  :bash:If they won't allow teachers to carry, then ex-cops not easily identified should not be exempt.

So fewer guns is better then.  Your reasoning is questionable. Although I agree with you that teachers should be able to carry (as a matter of my personal opinion, I believe everyone should be able to carry in a school), just because they can't doesn't mean we should eliminate others who should be allowed. The more people who are allowed to carry firearms in our schools the greater the chance an active shooter event can be interrupted and/or stopped. I think that retired officers are being considered in this bill because of past experience and that they're the ones likely to get hired into a security position.

[CP]

How many people would this bill possibly effect?

Everyone that attends or works at a school.

[bowbuild]

Voted NO! They wearing a banner when entering school grounds??  :bash:If they won't allow teachers to carry, then ex-cops not easily identified should not be exempt.

So fewer guns is better then.  Your reasoning is questionable. Although I agree with you that teachers should be able to carry (as a matter of my personal opinion, I believe everyone should be able to carry in a school), just because they can't doesn't mean we should eliminate others who should be allowed. The more people who are allowed to carry firearms in our schools the greater the chance an active shooter event can be interrupted and/or stopped. I think that retired officers are being considered in this bill because of past experience and that they're the ones likely to get hired into a security position.

Really?? So some man/woman is seen carrying a gun on campus, the mere site of the gun sets the wheels in motion of "shooter" on campus and staff respond, with calls to police, and kids panic...so, what is unrealistic about that. We have seen numerous responses recently by police that have no ended well, because of perception.......If I were a officer, I would want easy to understand clear cut rules.....exceptions are problems waiting to happen.

I would go so far as to say ONLY UNIFORMED officers are to respond to calls at a school campus, easier to know a real shooter from someone that is not a threat. Would agree with uniformed security with weopons.

[JimmyHoffa]

I can think of a WDFW officer that I wouldn't mind seeing retired and wouldn't want given special treatment for anything--packing in/around schools being one.

[pianoman9701]

Voted NO! They wearing a banner when entering school grounds??  :bash:If they won't allow teachers to carry, then ex-cops not easily identified should not be exempt.

So fewer guns is better then.  Your reasoning is questionable. Although I agree with you that teachers should be able to carry (as a matter of my personal opinion, I believe everyone should be able to carry in a school), just because they can't doesn't mean we should eliminate others who should be allowed. The more people who are allowed to carry firearms in our schools the greater the chance an active shooter event can be interrupted and/or stopped. I think that retired officers are being considered in this bill because of past experience and that they're the ones likely to get hired into a security position.

Really?? So some man/woman is seen carrying a gun on campus, the mere site of the gun sets the wheels in motion of "shooter" on campus and staff respond, with calls to police, and kids panic...so, what is unrealistic about that. We have seen numerous responses recently by police that have no ended well, because of perception.......If I were a officer, I would want easy to understand clear cut rules.....exceptions are problems waiting to happen.

I would go so far as to say ONLY UNIFORMED officers are to respond to calls at a school campus, easier to know a real shooter from someone that is not a threat. Would agree with uniformed security with weopons.

Yes really. First of all, if the restrictions were dropped, people would know that someone carrying isn't necessarily a bad thing. And, even if they didn't and called it in, there's no harm, no foul. I'd rather have a false alarm called in than no ability at all to repel an active shooter. Presently, there's no ability unless an active duty cop is stationed at the school. Secondly, we're talking about most people still being in their cars or carrying concealed. It's ridiculous I can't have my firearm while I'm waiting in the parking lot to pick-up my daughter. It's ridiculous that teachers can't carry. Hundreds of thousands of people carry everyday around children all over the country and they aren't having accidents or shooting them. A school would be no different. It would certainly be a safer place than one where a madman knows he can kill unopposed.

[NW-GSP]

Keep in mind that current LEO and Corrections Officers have the ability to carry on school grounds now, so those of you that think that only uniformed Officers should carry on campus need to realize that there are already people conceal carrying on school grounds. 

[KFhunter]

I'm not in favor of the general public carrying on school grounds, the fiasco in the legislature chamber is a good example why.  No training is required to carry concealed.  I'm not in favor of teachers carrying concealed unless they have mandatory training.


Retired LE has been trained for years, 20+ years.  This is a step in the right direction to ending gun free zones in schools.  I would add that I'd like to see them able to carry on school grounds provided they meet all the conditions of LEOSA, in fact it could just simply be tagged on to LEOSA nationally.


baby steps - last thing I want to see is a bunch of armed folks tramping around the school grounds like they did in the legislature recently.