Hutchinson to Morgan: Schools Working to Protect Children
By: Jay Dillon
Updated: January 16, 2013
One month after the tragic shooting in Newtown, CT "Piers Morgan Tonight" welcomed NRA consultant, Asa Hutchinson to the program.
Former U.S. Representative and Rogers lawyer Asa Hutchinson talking about gun violence.
One week after the tragedy in Newtown, he was tasked with leading an NRA effort to push for armed officers in schools. On Monday, he was on Piers Morgan Tonight where Morgan asked a question a lot of americans had asked when the idea of arming administrators was first pitched.
"There is a fear that if you start loading up firearms around school children, all over America, what you're basically doing is militarizing schools. Where do you stop? You have to militarize almost everywhere that children may be, and that is everywhere, so America becomes this military country," Morgan asked.
Hutchinson's response was that schools are already armed.
"Piers you're absolutely wrong. President Clinton imitated the cops in schools program. We have officers that are armed, train guards in about 1/3 of our schools. They're not military encampents. They're safe environments in which the children feel very secure around with that kind of protection," Hutchinson said.
He also detailed some of the reasons behind the current NRA initiative to arm guards outside of America's educational institutions: "My job is to come up with some good solutions to help our school districts and our states, to look at this. When the President comes out with his proposals, I do hope that he provides a federal partnership for providing funds for training of the armed presence in the schools to help our local school districts," said the former under-secretary of Homeland Security. "Right now, virtually every school district in America is looking at better ways to assure the safety of their children."
Noting that he can understand why many people would find the NRA's plan to seem sensible, Piers Morgan did express concern that weapons would send the wrong message, and create the wrong environment, for students and their communities: "There is a fear that if you start loading up firearms around schoolchildren, all over America, what you're basically doing is militarizing schools. Where do you stop? You have to militarize almost everywhere that children may be, and that is everywhere," theorized Morgan. "So America becomes this kind of paramilitary country."
Click here to see more of the interview on CNN's website.
Former U.S. Representative and Rogers lawyer Asa Hutchinson talking about gun violence.
One week after the tragedy in Newtown, he was tasked with leading an NRA effort to push for armed officers in schools. On Monday, he was on Piers Morgan Tonight where Morgan asked a question a lot of americans had asked when the idea of arming administrators was first pitched.
"There is a fear that if you start loading up firearms around school children, all over America, what you're basically doing is militarizing schools. Where do you stop? You have to militarize almost everywhere that children may be, and that is everywhere, so America becomes this military country," Morgan asked.
Hutchinson's response was that schools are already armed.
"Piers you're absolutely wrong. President Clinton imitated the cops in schools program. We have officers that are armed, train guards in about 1/3 of our schools. They're not military encampents. They're safe environments in which the children feel very secure around with that kind of protection," Hutchinson said.
He also detailed some of the reasons behind the current NRA initiative to arm guards outside of America's educational institutions: "My job is to come up with some good solutions to help our school districts and our states, to look at this. When the President comes out with his proposals, I do hope that he provides a federal partnership for providing funds for training of the armed presence in the schools to help our local school districts," said the former under-secretary of Homeland Security. "Right now, virtually every school district in America is looking at better ways to assure the safety of their children."
Noting that he can understand why many people would find the NRA's plan to seem sensible, Piers Morgan did express concern that weapons would send the wrong message, and create the wrong environment, for students and their communities: "There is a fear that if you start loading up firearms around schoolchildren, all over America, what you're basically doing is militarizing schools. Where do you stop? You have to militarize almost everywhere that children may be, and that is everywhere," theorized Morgan. "So America becomes this kind of paramilitary country."
Click here to see more of the interview on CNN's website.
