State Initiative 1621 could allow schools to arm themselves

WASHINGTON – Hearing about another firearm initiative trying to make the ballot for the November General Election is no surprise, right? This one, however, stands a little differently.
Initiative 1621, referred to as the Secure School Choice Initiative, would allow concealed carry permit holders to carry their pistols on school grounds.
After the recent school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida, parents and teachers across the nation have sparked the notion of allowing educational staff to carry a gun within the school. Washington State law currently does not allow anyone, with the exception of law enforcement and military personnel, to be armed inside a school. The initiative is not to arm every non-student at the school, expressed Tyler Miller, who initiated the Secure School Choice Initiative. The proposed law, if able to be placed on the ballot and passed, would simply allow the conversation to be had on arming educational staff if they chose to do so.
The language in which the initiative is written would specify requirements on carrying a gun inside a school, including obtaining a concealed carry permit and being a non-student.
The intent, as stated on the initiative, “would amend the current Revised Code of Washington for the possession of dangerous weapons on school facilities to allow licensed concealed carry permit holders to possess a pistol while on public or private school grounds. School employees would be required to inform their senior administrator that they will be carrying a firearm for awareness and accountability purposes only.” The initiative also states that a school may require that any school employee that intents on carrying their weapon in school provides proof of training in firearms safety.
In order to make it on the ballot for the November 2018 General Election, the initiative needs the signatures of around 259,000 supporters by July 6.
For more information on Initiative 1621, visit carry1621.org.