Local anit-gun violence advocacy groups host public discussion on DI

Concerned citizens, both young and old, convened for a public meeting at the Berkeley County Library on Daniel Island on March 28 to discuss next steps following the “March for Our Lives” event that took place in Charleston and across the nation on March 24.

Arm in Arm South Carolina, an organization that advocates for responsible gun ownership, led the meeting, alongside the student leaders who organized the Charleston March for Our Lives and Moms Demand Action, a group created to aid in establishing common-sense gun reforms by contacting legislators and other officials.

While much of the national conversation has focused on the physical “hardening” of school buildings across America, Vice-Chair and Outreach Coordinator for Arm in Arm Jessie Brynan explained that they wanted the meeting to focus on broader topics, like mental health advocacy.

“One of the aspects that has come up with each mass shooting, whether it’s in a school or not, is the mental health of the shooter and his or her access to firearms,” said Brynan. “One of the things that we want to make sure we’re advocating for here in S.C. is financial support for mental health programs in schools and in the counties.”

Though mental health was briefly discussed, what seemed to be the biggest concern of those in attendance was the “militarization” of schools. If passed, a bill (H4972) that was introduced in February of this year would amend the South Carolina Code of Laws to enact the “School Protection Officer Act,” which would designate employees as “school officers” to provide armed protection and other safety measures on public school campuses, according to the South Carolina State House website.

“The language in [the bill] is really kind of sketchy because it doesn’t say who on the school campus would be armed,” said Jackie Shelley, State Lead of Moms Demand Action. “It could be a teacher, it could be a principal. It doesn’t really say. That’s our concern as an organization. We don’t support arming someone that is an employee at the school already, because they already have a job. They’re not a trained person, as much as you would have with a resource officer that’s trained.”

Patrick Martin, a freshman English teacher at Wando High School, expressed his concern from a staff member’s point of view.

“My primary concern is the tail wagging the dog when it comes to educating professionals and proposed legislation that would allow for armed teachers and militarization of schools,” said Martin. “Even something as simple as mandating metal detectors in all schools, as teachers on the inside, it seems like the wrong approach to take in the situation.”

Student and Charleston March for Our Lives board member Dalton Bell was especially passionate about the subject. Bell, who attends Fort Dorchester High School, explained that the funding used to arm teachers could be used for much greater needs within the schools.

“It baffles me that our government would be willing to fund arming teachers and staff in schools, but not arming them with things that they actually need to do their everyday job,” said Bell. “That’s absolutely mind blowing that our schools could be literally falling apart and they want to invest millions of dollars into weapons in our schools as a solution.”

In order to combat said legislation, Brynan continued, Arm in Arm hopes to facilitate a Town Hall meeting with local school board members and other concerned citizens to discuss the issue of gun violence and how to properly address it.

“[At the meeting] you heard the students and teachers talk with fear and dismay that [the] ‘hardening’ of their schools is an environment that is not their choice, necessitated by societal factors that are not being addressed: age limitation on purchase of guns, no action on assault weapons etc.,” said Brynan. “That is where Arm in Arm SC would like to help them organize support in the general public. Schools need to be better able to withstand mass shootings, but we need to do more in the area of gun regulation and the passage of background checks.”

To further advocate about responsible gun ownership and gun violence in schools, Arm in Arm has made it a priority to visit faith communities and residents’ homes to discuss the sometimes uncomfortable issue, Brynan added.

“Arm in Arm is going to faith communities, churches, using a Bible study directive that was developed by another group, so that when people are delving with some very sensitive issues about morality and values, we want them to talk about gun violence,” said Brynan. “The other thing that we’re doing is holding conversations in peoples’ homes. For so long, this was a taboo subject, because it was so polarizing. We’re trying to break through that.”

During the meeting, Brynan discussed the possibility of additional public meetings on Daniel Island and James Island in the future. For more information, visit http://arminarmsc.org/ or email info@arminarmsc.org. For further information about Moms Demand Action, visit https://momsdemandaction.org/.

The Daniel Island News reached out to Palmetto Gun Rights for comment, but the organization did not respond in time for print.