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Tx4obama

(36,974 posts)
Wed Jan 16, 2013, 03:32 PM Jan 2013

President Obama’s Call For Cops In Schools Echoes Clinton

President Obama’s Call For Cops In Schools Echoes Clinton

President Obama suggested on Wednesday that the government provide grant money to hire police in schools, prompting cries of hypocrisy on the right after a proposal by the National Rifle Association to hire armed guards to protect children was met with widespread ridicule. But Obama’s plan has more in common with a program enacted by President Bill Clinton and eliminated by President Bush.

According to the White House, Obama plans on “using this year’s COPS program to provide incentives for more police departments to hire school resource officers” in addition to a “new, comprehensive school safety initiative to help local school districts hire up to 1,000 school resource officers and school-based mental health professionals, as well as make other investments in school safety.”

The COPS program was created by the 1994 crime bill, a law signed by Clinton and sponsored by then-Senator Joe Biden (D-DE) with the goal of hiring 100,000 police officers nationwide. Other provisions in the anti-crime package included the Violence Against Women Act and the Federal Assault Weapons Ban, both of which have since lapsed over Democratic objections.

After a wave of school shootings in the late 1990s, Clinton signed a bill funding grants to hire specially trained community officers in schools. The bill was authored by by then-Rep. James Maloney (D-CT), whose district includes Newtown today, and was aimed at least in part at preventing mass shootings. At a press conference in 1998, Clinton argued for passage of Maloney’s proposal by telling the story of a school officer in Richmond, Va., who was hired by the existing COPS program and apprehended a 14-year old shooter after the teenager wounded two students.

-snip-

Full article here: http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2013/01/obama-clinton-cops-schools.php?ref=fpnewsfeed



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President Obama’s Call For Cops In Schools Echoes Clinton (Original Post) Tx4obama Jan 2013 OP
Better a cop than the teacher or custodian. Autumn Jan 2013 #1
Why can't we look at what causes kids/people to freak out in the first place? Myrina Jan 2013 #2

Myrina

(12,296 posts)
2. Why can't we look at what causes kids/people to freak out in the first place?
Wed Jan 16, 2013, 04:16 PM
Jan 2013

Rather than turning schools into armed encampments which aren't going to make ANY child actually feel SAFER ... let's address issues that cause kids to feel like they need to bring guns to school ... or adults to feel like they need to shoot up their/their ex's/their neighbor's kids ... and make a serious effort to put a stop to the 'I don't like it so I'll kill it' culture.

"An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind." ~ Ghandi

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