In the wake of the Monterey Park and Half Moon Bay mass shootings in California, and mass shootings nationwide, the LAUSD Board of Education proudly, yet wearily, passed a resolution exploring new means to fight gun violence.
The resolution seeks to advocate for gun safety laws at the state and national level, review financial policies to identify opportunities to divest from any gun-related businesses, and recognize the first Friday in June as National Gun Violence Awareness and Wear Orange Day.
This follows recent actions taken by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, also in response to the shootings, to tighten gun regulations in unincorporated areas of the county.
“It’s time we yet again take a stand and say that enough is enough,” said LAUSD Board Member Nick Melvoin, the author of the resolution, at the Tuesday, Feb. 7 meeting. “We need to leave no stone unturned because children are dying and so this resolution seeks to reiterate our previous support for some of these efforts and seeks creative new ways to help end this epidemic.”
The board unanimously passed Melvoin’s resolution, but did so while also expressing exasperation over the fact that gun violence is only continuing to grow.
“It frustrates me when I see a well-intentioned, well-worded resolution and yet, what will change?” said Board Member George McKenna. “Am I optimistic? Not as much as I’m realistic, even pessimistic and rightfully so because I haven’t seen anything that really makes a difference.”
Some of the challenges board members discussed include the federal governments’ failure to strengthen gun laws, L.A.’s strong black market for buying and selling guns and the fact that people can now easily print 3D guns.
LAUSD Superintendent Alberto Carvalho called the motion “the right policy at the right time,” but also acknowledged the uphill battle the district faces in addressing the issue.
“It is a scourge in our nation; it is an embarrassment in…
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