Most Californians support armed police officer at schools, new poll shows
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A COP FOR EVERY SCHOOL?
A new Public Policy Institute of California poll has found that most Californians and public school parents would support having an armed police officer on campus to protect students.
According to the poll, 35% of adults polled said they strongly support the idea, 36% say they somewhat support it, 17% somewhat oppose, and 11% strongly oppose. Support is higher among public school parents. About 1,600 adults, including 279 public school parents, were surveyed.
“It doesn’t surprise me,” said Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher, R-Yuba City, who authored AB 68, a bill that would put an armed school resource officer at all California schools. “I talk to people all the time who say we need, you know, better security at our schools, right? I wish it weren’t the case.”
The same survey found about 7 in 10 adults were concerned about a school shooting happening at their local school.
Gallagher said he’s been working on the issue since the 2017 shooting at Rancho Tehama Elementary School in his district. He said he believes an armed school resource officer could have intervened earlier to stop the gunman there, as well as in last year’s shooting at the Feather River Adventist School, also in his district.
However, Gallagher says AB 68 won’t be heard this year after the chair of the Committee on Education, Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi, D-Rolling Hills Estates, elected to not give it a hearing. Instead it will become a two-year bill.
Muratsuchi’s office says Gallagher pulled the bill after it became clear there would not be time for it to be heard this year.
School resource officers tend not to be a favored option among those who advocate against gun violence.
On its website, Everytown for Gun Safety says “School Resource Officers (SROs) don’t stop school shootings but research has shown that SROs can harm students in various ways, including criminalizing typical youth and teen behavior.”
SPEAKING OF GUNS…
Via David Lightman…
Sen. Adam Schiff Wednesday officially took up the legacy of the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein as he led a group of lawmakers proposing an assault weapons ban.
Feinstein, a California Democrat who held the seat now occupied by Schiff, was a senator for 31 years before her death in September 2023. She was known as a fierce advocate for a ban on assault weapons, leading the fight for a 10-year ban starting in 1994.
The restrictions expired and are unlikely to be approved again in this Congress.
Schiff, D-Calif., will try. His legislation, introduced Wednesday, would prevent the sale, transfer, manufacture, and import of military-style assault weapons, high-capacity magazines, and other high-capacity ammunition feeding devices.
Congresswoman Lucy McBath, D-Georgia, is the lead House sponsor.
The bill has 37 Senate co-sponsors, all Democrats. Republicans, though, control the House and Senate, making it highly unlikely the bill advances.
TUCKER CARLSON GHOSTS THE GOV
Via Lia Russell...
Republican media juggernaut Tucker Carlson said Tuesday he recently agreed to appear on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s podcast, then backed out.
Carlson told Megyn Kelly in an interview that he initially agreed to appear on “This Is Gavin Newsom” then demurred. The former Fox News host said he backed because he thought that the point of the show was to “not to have a real conversation or to ask questions, but to rehabilitate” the California governor’s image ahead of his predicted 2028 presidential campaign.
“I don’t think there’s anything at all at the core (of Newsom’s politics), other than misery,” Carlson said, calling him a “deeply unhappy” person. “Everything is about the public display… but (he’s) also a talented person who will say anything, which, in politics, is an advantage, if you’re willing to say anything.”
Kelly said she agreed that no conservatives should appear on Newsom’s podcast, “because I think it’s helping train for 2028 and I don’t think we should help him.”
Newsom has said the point of his podcast, which launched in March, was to explore why the “toxic” Democratic Party lost in the 2024 election and interview pundits of all political persuasions. He has leaned on his ex-wife Kimberly Guilfoyle, herself a former conservative pundit and sometime U.S. Ambassador to Greece, to connect him to MAGA mainstays like Charlie Kirk and Steve Bannon.
His most recent show, which published Tuesday, was a town-hall style episode that featured small business owners talking about how President Donald Trump’s tariffs had affected their livelihoods.
While he has not confirmed his interest in a 2028 campaign, Newsom’s name has been floated as a potential Democratic contender. Other potential candidates include Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, former Vice President Kamala Harris, and New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“The New York Times will not be deterred by the administration’s intimidation tactics. We will continue to pursue the facts without fear or favor and stand up for journalists’ First Amendment right to ask questions on behalf of the American people.” - a New York Times spokesperson in response to criticism of the outlet’s coverage by President Donald Trump
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