Kiefert Again Pushes For Guns in Schools

Rep. Dwight Kiefert

Rep. Dwight Kiefert out of Valley City is at it again and pushing for more guns in schools. Kiefert is serving in his third legislative session. Out of the total of six bills he has introduced since 2013, three of them have related to guns in schools. Perhaps he has renewed his efforts following President Trump’s nomination of Betsy Devos to head the Department of Education. Devos had this to say when asked about whether schools are a place for guns:

“I will refer back to Sen. Enzi and the school he is talking about in Wyoming. I think probably there, I would imagine there is probably a gun in a school to protect from potential grizzlies,” – Betsy Devos

I found some leaked audio from Kiefert speaking to the North Dakota House Republicans following Devos’ hearing. In it, he explains why they should pass his bill this time after they’ve defeated it in previous years. Take a listen.

Okay, maybe that audio was captured from a newsroom in San Diego. Regardless, Kiefert has repeatedly said this bill, and the similar one he introduced before, is intended to help rural school districts in the event of an incident. However, there are other ways to help these school districts keep their students and facility safe. For example, state funding for professional school resource officers.

HB 1310 will be heard on Friday, January 27th, at 9:00 am in the House Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Why they would put a bill, ” relating to carrying a concealed firearm in a school” in the Energy and Natural Resources Committee and not the Education Committee is beyond me.