The Baltimore City School Board voted Tuesday to oppose a measure that would have allowed school police officers to carry weapons during the school day. Currently, the 90-odd city schools police officers may carry their service weapons while patrolling the exterior of school buildings before and after, but not during, school hours. During school hours, they’re required to lock up their guns. The board’s unanimous (10-0) vote to effectively crushed any hope of overturning that standing policy in the near future.
This vote followed a “lively public forum,” according to The Baltimore Sun, in which parents, members of the police union, and students spoke in favor as well as opposition.
“We have always been Baltimore’s ‘best-kept secret,'” said Sgt. Clyde Boatwright, on behalf of the Fraternal Order of Police. He said there was no substantive data that showed armed officers caused problems in schools, only suggestions that “it could.”
Baltimore is the only jurisdiction in Maryland with a sworn school police force. In surrounding counties, local police or sheriff’s departments patrol schools and are allowed to carry their weapons.
An interesting detail of this story is that the bill was sponsored by State Del. Cheryl D. Glenn, a Democrat. Following the school board’s decision, Glenn said she was “very disappointed.” She also said the believed the board had succumbed to pressure from a student group called the Baltimore Algebra Project, which ended the event by forming a phalanx with their backs to the board members and saying, “No guns in schools – we are gonna fight for our lives.”
Students who oppose SRO’s to be armed in @BaltCitySchools take over board meeting with a list of demands. Chair forced to take a 10 minute break before voting. @wbaltv11 #wbal pic.twitter.com/XJFkihpmix
— Karen Campbell (@KarenCampbellTV) January 22, 2019
“I think that this is a very unwise decision,” said Glenn. “These are sworn police officers. They are not security guards. They have more training than Baltimore police.”
Unfortunately, there’s nothing she can do at this point.
“I can’t move a bill that doesn’t have the support of the school board and the mayor,” Glenn commented. “The votes wouldn’t be there.”
The last time someone attempted to change this policy was 2015 in the General Assembly. That proposal was similarly DOA.
This is just an example of why Baltimore deserves every bad thing it gets. No commonsense. The DC-Baltimore-Annapolis triangle area and Montgomery County aren’t far behind.
That area stretches well down into northern Virginia. Unfortunately.
New Mexico legislature is trying to do the same dayum thing.
https://www.lcsun-news.com/story/news/local/new-mexico/legislature/2019/01/24/new-mexico-legislation-governor-test-appetite-gun-control-2nd-amendment/2671992002/
Why don’t they just put up signs, “Targets Available”?
A mass shooter’s favorite kind of target, too: a target that doesn’t shoot back. Also, a total blowout 10-0?!?!?!? There truly is no hope for Baltimore…
Baltimore city schools? And you don’t think these kids are already toting guns around from elementary age til they drop out at 15 and then get blasted by some rivals? There’s a reason there are never any school shootings in cities- the kids save it til after school.
City, “Hey hows about we provide armed security to protect your kids?”
Parents, “ No! We don’t want them to be shielded from harmful people!”
They don’t see it like that but…
It’s for the children!
Ridiculous.
It is for the children – The school-shooter children who now know they have a free-fire zone in every school in Baltimore where they can rack up a *massive* body count.
It’s sad to say, but Baltimore deserves to reap what they sow with that short-sighted bullshit…
“Denial kills you twice.” A quote that comes to mind from Col. Dave Grossman, author of On Killing. Grossman has studied active killer cases for years and an authority on the subject. He’s spoken and put on seminars everywhere, including our school board district years ago. Awesome speaker, psychologist and former US Army Ranger, etc.
I gather that Baltimore City has no idea of who he is or the topic at hand. Just clueless sheeple that are going to bury their own students and staff when the next active killer scenario erupts.
Now their own Police force can’t carry firearms when school is in session???!!!
Stupid is as stupid does.
They’re all in denial.
“Denial kills you twice. It kills you once, at your moment of truth when you are not physically prepared: You didn’t bring your gun; you didn’t train. Your only defense was wishful thinking. Hope is not a strategy. Denial kills you a second time because even if you do physically survive, you are psychologically shattered by fear, helplessness, horror and shame at your moment of truth.”
LTC. Dave Grossman
On Sheep, Wolves and Sheepdogs
HBO had a series in the early 2000’s called “The Wire”, all about Baltimore and the drug trade. It was based off a lot of real life events. Aside from being one of the best shows ever made (IMHO), it gives an excellent, if bleak, look at how effed up a city can be from the streets up through the ranks of local government.
The democrats would prefer children be murdered in a public school, than have a police officer shoot a bad guy with a gun. There is a certain mental illness in the mind of a Liberal Democrat. A Baltimore cop shot a school shooter before he could shoot more people just are year.
Some people are just to stupid, or irrational, or mentally sick to be saved. Yes they are fellow Americans. And they have freely chosen very badly, the wrong action. No one can help them. But if they choose to force their ways on to others, to disarm law abiding people, then they will be come the evil ones.
Anyone who disarms a good guy is just as evil as the shooter.
Unfortunately, kids getting killed is better for the gun control agenda than protecting them in the first place.
Absolutely.
And did you catch the part where it was the students themselves who categorically refused to consider an armed SRO and stopped the meeting in protest?
This is where the progressive left has taken education: brainwashed children rejecting the very idea that good people might be able to defend the innocent.
Yup. Just insane. Stupid kids are running the show. Blind leading the blind.
None of them could find their asses in the dark with both hands.
Chris T in KY,
And this shows the ultimate goal of Leftists: TOTAL disarmament, which even includes the police.
Whatever Leftists are proposing today is just an interim step along the way to TOTAL disarmament. This is why we should NEVER compromise with them.
Chris T you are seeing the bigger picture. You know you’re never supposed to do that don’t you ?
Did you not read the article?
Miss the part where it was a Democrat who sponsored this bill so cops could do their job and keep students safe?
“sponsored by State Del. Cheryl D. Glenn, a DEMOCRAT. Following the school board’s decision, Glenn said she was “very disappointed.”
They prefer the “cower and die” approach to school safety.
Good. Schools are enough like prisons without armed cops in them.
Want to protect kids? Repeal “gun free” school zones. Giving special rights to cops is not the answer.
Now, THAT is a good point!
They do want to protect kids — from anyone who might be able to save the next batch of martyrs.
Hell, the kids themselves are protesting against the very idea that a good guy might be allowed to protect the innocent.
Note to criminals: This school is unarmed and defenseless, and with the School Board’s blessing. So when a shooting happens at such places, please do use these dead student’s bodies as collateral damage, by blaming the Second Amendment, and the law abiding gun owner for your utter stupidity. Sadly, fixing stupid is not something that can be fixed in this area.
Can you even imagine the lawsuits if this school had a shooting, then people discovered the cops weren’t armed because a few of the CHILDREN they were supposed to protect objected? Say goodbye to your homes and cars, folks. It doesn’t mention whether they asked the rest of the students, or any of the parents.
Yup. Just utter lunacy.
Homeschool your kids. Protect them from the other threats too, like koolaid spewing indoctrination, spineless bureaucrats, and ignorant adolescent fish.💪
well of course. they can’t provide any possible solutions because then they wouldn’t have any reason to pass gun control laws.
Will they issue the police hockey pucks and mini bats?
Each RO will receive a child-sized plastic pail of rocks.
perfect lib-tard d-sucker logic: no armed protection while students are present. blame nra & white privilege & inanimate objects the next time something bad happens. applaud amazing management after deaths.
Did you not read the article?
Miss the part where it was a Democrat who sponsored this bill so cops could do their job and keep students safe?
“sponsored by State Del. Cheryl D. Glenn, a DEMOCRAT. Following the school board’s decision, Glenn said she was “very disappointed.”
“…we are gonna fight for our lives.”
I hope the schools allow BIG buckets of rocks in the classrooms and the kids can throw like major league pitchers…
What I found enlightening is that a Democrat came up with the idea and it was still “shot” down by the bobos on the board.
That’s really fckd up.
More dead kids = more incentive to pass gun control laws.
…for the children.
Does this mean that an armed officer cannot enter the school while it’s being shot to pieces by some coconut ?
So they took advice on protecting children from some mad dog heavily armed wannabe mass murderer from the Algebra Club?
So who advises them on funerary arrangements? The Glee Club?
Yeah, no guns in schools – but they threaten nukes to confiscate…
I don’t know how anyone would take that job. But then, I wouldn’t want to be a Baltimore cop at all.
Baltimore is the most screwed up place in the entire country…..bar none…..not even close. It is run and inhabited by such a majority of morons it can’t be believed until seen and experienced. Yes…I have. You couldn’t make it up, nor make it worse, if you tried. These officers should refuse to ever be unarmed….and leave the schools as defenseless as they are when following this moronic policy. I’m surprised there’s still anyone willing to do any police work in Baltimore at all…..
i wouldn’t the the progtards in the baltimore city government and school system with sharp scissors.
i’m for arming teachers, but in baltimore ya’d have to screen ‘em pretty rigorously.
Baltimore is more evidence that culture and demographics cannot be fixed by progressive policies…in fact, they make things worse.
“Baltimore, School Shooter’s First Choice!”
Is that their new slogan?
Comments are closed.