Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell wants to discuss allowing school officials to carry firearms.
In a call in radio program, the Governor posed the idea that by having more armed individuals on school campuses would serve as a detriment to those trying to harm students.
"I know there is a knee-jerk reaction against that, but I think we should have a discussion about it," McDonnell said on WTOP's "Ask the Governor" this morning.
McDonnell said following a tragic event is not an appropriate time to discuss policy changes; however, it is important to discuss the larger issues. In response to the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Conn.,he has ordered an audit of school safety policies and seeks to form a task force of school officials, police, safety experts and parents to review those policies.
"The key is don't over-react. Don't react when you're emotional, because your policies might not be right. The key is looking at what works," he said during the interview.
Virginia law prohibits individuals, other than police officers, from carrying a firearm within 1,000 feet of a school. Prince William County Schools uses school resource officers, who are county police assigned to middle and high schools, as a deterrent to violent behavior from students.
McDonnell said he would like the newly-created task force to investigate the effectiveness of these types of programs.
However, he wondered if the principal of Sandy Hook Elementary School was armed, if the outcome would have been different.
“If a person like that was armed and trained could they have stopped the carnage in the classroom? Perhaps," he said.
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