Feinstein Seeks 1-Year Ouster for Armed Students
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said Monday that she will seek passage of legislation to require nearly every public school in the United States to expel any student for a one-year period if he or she is caught carrying a gun in school.
Feinstein, joining with Sen. Byron L. Dorgan (D-N.D.), said they would propose the “gun-free” school policy as an amendment to the $12-billion Elementary and Secondary Education Act when it comes to the Senate floor this week or next.
The provision is expected to be approved with little opposition.
“Kids are scared to death,” Feinstein said at a news conference. “The schools are not safe, and the No. 1 fear is that kids will get shot on the way to school or in school.”
The proposed amendment would provide that any school district that receives federal funds would have to impose a one-year expulsion on any student who brings a gun to school.
Asked what would happen to students during the year they are barred from classes, Feinstein replied: “If you bring a gun to school, you’re probably not learning anything anyway. And the other students will feel safer.”
She said Los Angeles schools adopted a mandatory expulsion policy for gun-toting students but without any specific time requirement. Feinstein said school violence in the district dropped by 14%.
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