09.18.19

By:  Nicole Gaudiano
Source: Politico

House panel advances bill collecting data on school shootings amid GOP protests

Members of the House education committee clashed Wednesday on a data-gathering bill for school shootings, with Democrats voting to approve it during a markup session over the objections of Republicans who called it a political stunt.

The heated debate over H.R. 4301 (116) offers yet another example of the challenges Congress faces in addressing gun violence. The bill, which was approved 27-22 on a party-line vote, calls for a wide range of data on school shootings and would also define “mass shooting” and “school shooting” for the first time in federal law. Committee Chairman Bobby Scott (D-Va.) said the bill would help provide a better understanding of how and why school shootings occur and how to prevent them.

“The committee has a responsibility to advance evidence-based legislation that ensures the safety of our schools,” he said. 

But the committee’s ranking Republican, Rep. Virginia Foxx, (R-N.C.), said the bill by Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) “turns a serious issue into a political stunt.” She offered a substitute amendment that would codify an existing report on school crime and safety in schools and require experts to periodically determine whether the available data is sufficient to provide an accurate analysis. It failed 22-25, also on party lines.

Reps. Lucy McBath (D-Ga.) and Jahana Hayes (D-Conn.)., both members of the committee and original cosponsors of the bill, reacted sharply to Foxx’s amendment, with McBath calling it “cowardly” and Hayes calling it “gutless.”

“This amendment goes so far as to delete the word shooting from the bill,” Hayes said.

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) shouted, “I need us not to debate about whether we can include ‘shooter,’ ‘school violence’ in the data collection. What I need you to worry about is how fast we are going to end this epidemic.”

The committee adopted an amendment from McBath that replaced an earlier text of the bill and included additional details for reporting.

Foxx had argued that the data Gabbard’s bill calls for is already largely being collected by relevant agencies and the collection requirements would be difficult for the Education Department and will likely end up burdening schools.

“This bill and the unnecessary reporting requirements in it are not about school safety but instead about gun politics,” she said.

The legislation directs the Department of Education to report annually on the number of school shootings, how many people were killed, demographics of shooters and victims, motivations of shooters, types of firearms and ammunition used and how the firearm was acquired. The reports would also track information on safety and prevention measures at the time of the shooting.

Under the bill’s definitions, a “school shooting” is when one or more individuals were injured or killed by a firearm on school grounds even if before or after school hours, while the victim was traveling to or from a regular session at school or while the victim was attending or traveling to or from an official school sponsored event.

A “mass shooting” happens when three or more individuals, not including the shooter, were injured or killed in one location or in multiple locations in close proximity.

“This is a small, but important step towards ensuring that classrooms are safe places where parents can have peace of mind and students are free to learn,” Scott said.

The bill, introduced on Sept. 12, has no Republican cosponsors. Among its supporters are the nation’s two top teachers unions, the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers. Several education and gun control groups also support the bill.

McBath, who lost her son to gun violence, said it’s a first step that will help policymakers better understand how to protect children and provide resources to schools.

“Students in my district have come to me in tears because they’re afraid of being injured or worse in their classroom,” McBath said.

Hayes, a former National Teacher of the Year whose district includes Newtown, highlighted a video Sandy Hook Promise released showing an active shooter scenario, saying “this is the new normal for our children.” 

Hayes said she was in a classroom in 2012 at the time of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting and she had to explain to her students what was happening.

“This is not political for me. It is heartbreaking, it is unacceptable and it’s traumatic,” she said. “What are my colleagues afraid of? We are simply asking that data be collected.”