Vote no on HB1694

Richard Womack recently filed House Bill 1694 in the Arkansas state Legislature, to be heard in committee today. HB1694 removes protections for public schools as gun-free zones under state law. Due to federal loopholes in the Gun-Free School Zones Act, if this bill becomes law, strangers will be able to come into our school buildings with loaded guns.

I have spent my career teaching in high schools and colleges across the state of Arkansas. And here’s the bottom line: I don’t care if I’m sitting at home at my kitchen table teaching my own daughter how to read, or if I’m in a school building teaching your children—I am not going to let a stranger inside with a loaded weapon. And to think that reasonably educated individuals would allow that to happen is unfathomable.

I’m a proud gun owner. I own a 9-millimeter, and you can be certain I know how to use it well. Our right to bear arms and the right to protect ourselves and our families must never be infringed. This bill is not a threat to our Second Amendment rights. It is, however, a threat to the immediate safety of all those who work in or attend K-12 schools.

Extremists in this country are destroying our nation. There can and must be a marriage of gun rights and common sense. This bill, however, is not it. Vote no on HB1694. HAYDEN SHAMEL

Hot Springs