Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., says it's time to mobilize retired and former service members to secure schools in the wake of the Texas elementary school shooting where a gunman killed 21, including 19 children.
"We have hundreds of thousands of well-trained former military members who could bring a lot to the table in terms of school security. ROTC instructors with firearms training should be allowed to possess weapons to enhance school security," Graham tweeted Friday.
"I will be working to create a certification process that allows former military members to go through school security training and become available to school districts throughout the country. It is time to mobilize our retired and former service members who are willing to help secure our schools. Our schools are soft targets. They contain our most valuable possession – our children, the future of our country – and must be protected."
Schoolhouses, he added, "should be treated like courthouses, banks, capital buildings, etc when it comes to security."
Police officers in Uvalde, Texas, took more than an hour to kill a shooter who massacred 19 children, a lapse of time that will likely be a key part of a Justice Department probe into the police response.
The incident has renewed demands for gun reform legislation, with some lawmakers calling for teachers and school administration officials to be armed.
Having "teachers and other administrators who have gone through training and who are armed would save lives," Texas Attorney General Ken Paxon told Newsmax Tuesday.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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