(RepublicanNews.org) – Republican Senator Rick Scott from Florida wants to re-purpose the money the Biden Administration has set aside for 87,000 new IRS agents.
Instead, he wants that $80 billion to pay for armed guards throughout America’s public schools.
Scott’s “School Guardian Act” (SCA) would move that money away from expanding the ranks of IRS auditors into paying for armed police at every K-12 school in the country. This would include the nation’s 98,000 public schools and 30,000 private schools. The money would be disbursed to the states through block grants administered by the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Many parents of children killed in school massacres support the bill. Ryan Petty, whose daughter Alaina was killed in a school shooting, called the bill “incredibly important.” Having an armed officer is the fastest way to stop such spree killings, he said.
Scott’s federal bill is similar to legislation he signed when he was governor of Florida. That created Florida’s Coach Aaron Feis Guardian Program. Forty-six of the state’s 67 counties use the program; others hire local cops.
Scott said, “It’s too bad we have to think about this, but we do.” Every school needs armed law enforcement, he said, because “every kid ought to be protected.”
The issue of armed guards in schools divides Democrats and Republicans. Republicans point out that armed guards could stop a spree killer from gunning down so many victims, and the presence of armed police might deter some would-be killers from even trying.
Democrats usually counter with some version of the idea that “more guns means more death,” but they are unable to explain how an armed guard protecting students would increase the death count.
Scott’s legislation is likely to prove popular with Republicans on other grounds, too. Conservatives have decried the Biden Administration’s hiring of double the number of IRS agents. They argue that the agency is politicized and will likely target conservatives and small business owners for unnecessary audits as political punishment.
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