Gun Violence Prevention Advocate, 

Just 5 years ago, a shooter opened fire on students and teachers in Parkland, Florida, killing 17 people. It was an unforgettable tragedy. What you may not remember is that there was an armed officer posted at the school that day, who did nothing to stop the carnage.¹

You and thousands of other CeaseFirePA supporters have asked again and again for real solutions to keep kids safe in Pennsylvania schools. Instead, there is a new bill rapidly moving in the PA Senate that would do just the opposite: S.B. 907 would mandate Pennsylvania school districts to keep armed guards in every school.²

Last week, this bill advanced through the PA Senate Education Committee–ignoring opposition from our state’s largest teachers union³ and CeaseFirePA’s vocal opposition.⁴ This isn’t how we keep kids safe in school–research has shown that armed guards can make schools less safe. 

We need you to take action now to stop this bill in its tracks.

A study of 133 school shootings found that the rate of death in shootings was 2.8 times greater in schools with an armed guard present.⁵ We want real solutions that keep our kids safe. Our Common Agenda to End Gun Violence includes four bills that offer evidence-based solutions to keep kids safe in schools,⁶ two of which have already passed the PA House with bipartisan support.⁷ 

Adding more guns to PA schools is not a solution to gun violence. We know what works–preventing violent individuals from accessing firearms in the first place. Please take action: ask your Senator to publicly speak out against this bill to help stop its passage and educate their constituents that it would do nothing to keep our kids safer at school. 

Sincerely,
Adam Garber 
Executive Director 
CeaseFirePA Action

¹  https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/parkland-shooting-armed-school-resource-officer-never-went-school-during-n850441  

² https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billinfo/billinfo.cfm?syear=2023&sind=0&body=S&type=B&bn=0907 

³ https://www.pennlive.com/news/2022/06/pa-teachers-union-pushes-back-against-lawmakers-proposal-to-allow-school-employees-to-be-armed.html 

⁴ https://www.pennlive.com/news/2023/08/pa-bill-to-allow-armed-school-security-guards-returns-gun-control-advocates-push-back.html 

⁵ https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2776515?ceid=134845&emci=862114c2-ea3a-ee11-a3f1-00224832eb73&emdi=e21f528c-f23a-ee11-a3f1-00224832eb73&sourceid=1132322 

⁶ https://www.ceasefirepa.org/our-work/common-agenda/ 

⁷ https://www.ceasefirepa.org/general-interest/pa-house-passes-two-gun-safety-bills-with-bipartisan-support/