Arming teachers among a slew of bad bills being considered in Madison
Democrats see this not only as not a solution to the crisis but as dangerous, given that even trained armed officers are often unable to stop these attacks by shooters who are often armed with semi-automatic rifles.
By Rhonda Daily
Unwilling to tackle gun availability head-on but wanting to demonstrate some course of action regarding the scourge of school shootings, the House GOP has unveiled a bill to arm teachers in schools. This is one of several GOP bills that will go through committee before public hearings on the matters.
AB55 would provide exceptions at the state level, identical to the already existing federal exception, for a person who has a Department of Justice-issued license to possess a firearm on school grounds, provided that the person is employed by the school. Democrats see this not only as not a solution to the crisis but as dangerous, given that even trained armed officers are often unable to stop these attacks by shooters who are often armed with semi-automatic rifles.
AB56
This is not a new idea. “In God We Trust” became the national motto in the 1950s, and just over a decade ago Congress passed into law a bill that “supports and encourages” the public display of this motto on all public buildings, public schools, and other government institutions. Wisconsin’s Republicans are looking to take that one step further and make it a requirement, not just on the outside of schools, but in each classroom and in a location where notices for employees are regularly posted.
This has the very real potential of making people of other faiths feel ostracized and causes further erosion of the vital separation of church and state that is one of the most critical elements of the US Constitution.
AB58
This appears to be in direct response to Governor Evers’ decision to fly a Pride flag over the Capitol during Pride Month and a Juneteenth flag commemorating the day the last enslaved African Americans were freed. This bill would prohibit, with some exceptions, any flag other than the United States flag and the State of Wisconsin flag from being flown outside of any state or local government building or school building.
Here again, Wisconsin’s Republicans are echoing the sentiment of the federal government when, in January, Secretary of State Marc Rubio banned rainbow flags and Black Lives Matter flags at United States embassies at the behest of President Trump’s “One Flag Policy.”
What is confusing about this is Evers flew these flags in addition to the US flag, not as a replacement of it. It is not clear why Republicans feel two flags can’t fly at the same time without one diminishing the other.
Read these bills in their entirety.
