ATLANTA -- The two candidates for Georgia governor disagree on how to handle school shootings in Georgia.
Republican Brian Kemp wants to augment school security with new camera gear, mental health counselors and more armed school police if the local systems want them. He also wants teachers armed if local school boards want it.
"I’m going to be a local control governor. I think arming teacher is something the local districts, the leadership, parents and folks working in it need to decide that issue," Kemp said Wednesday. Democrat Stacey Abrams said she opposes arming teachers.
Kemp and Abrams agree schools should have sufficient armed police officers. But Abrams goes into territory Kemp says is off the table.
It "means being able to hire school security officers and school resource officers," Abrams said Wednesday. "But it also means that we have to have the right gun laws. It also means we also have to have health care (programs), including mental health care."
Abrams is talking about expanding Medicaid. She’s also talking about universal background checks and three day waiting periods for gun buyers.
Kemp says no to that. "This is a school safety issue. It has nothing to do with second amendment protections or gun control ideas that my opponent may have. This is dealing with school safety," Kemp said.
Abrams says Kemp is skirting the issue. "We cannot have a conversation about school safety unrelated to gun laws. Gun laws are inherently part of the challenge children face in being safe in their schools," Abrams said.
Kemp pitched a $90 million school safety plan Wednesday. It did not include arming teachers but it did include funding for added security training for local schools.
Abrams says local schools should be able to use E-SPLOST money, now typically spent on construction programs, to enhance security.
