Preparing Schools For Mass Shootings Was An Industry That Had Stalled. Then Parkland Happened.
An Associated Press investigation shows that security companies have been pushing lawmakers toward elevating the solution of "hardening schools" with high-tech hardware and gadgets over other safety measures.
The Associated Press:
Lawmakers Buy Industry Fix To Stop Mass School Shootings
Security companies spent years pushing schools to buy more products — from “ballistic attack-resistant” doors to smoke cannons that spew haze from ceilings to confuse a shooter. But sales were slow, and industry’s campaign to free up taxpayer money for upgrades had stalled. That changed last February, when a former student shot and killed 17 people at a Florida high school. Publicly, the rampage reignited the U.S. gun-control debate. Privately, it propelled industry efforts to sell school fortification as the answer to the mass killing of American kids. (Dunklin and Pritchard, 10/2)
And the gun control issue bubbles up on the trail —
The Hill:
Five Takeaways From Nelson And Scott's First Debate
The deadly mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., in February is reverberating throughout the state's elections, and Tuesday’s Senate debate was no exception. [Sen Bill] Nelson pointed to [Gov. Rick] Scott’s “A-rating” from the National Rifle Association (NRA) and accused him of failing to implement new rules and regulations that he said could help address mass shootings like the one in Parkland, where 17 people were killed. (Greenwood, 10/2)
