A bill requiring law enforcement officers carry a firearm when providing security at schools has been signed into law.
Gov. Andy Beshear signed the bill on Friday.
The measure enjoyed strong bipartisan support as a follow-up to last year’s sweeping school safety law stemming from a shooting at Marshall County High School in January 2018 that resulted in the deaths of two 15-year-old students, Bailey Holt and Preston Cope. More than a dozens of other students were injured in the shooting.
“I simply cannot ask a school resource officer to stop an armed gunman entering a school without them having the ability to not only achieve this mission but also to protect themselves,” Beshear told reporters. “We must be able to stop the worst of the worst.”
GOP Sen. Max Wise, the bill’s lead sponsor, said Beshear signing the measure into law will go down as an “incredibly important day” for the state. The measure is crucial to the state’s efforts to bolster school safety, Wise added.
Last year’s school safety law did not specify whether school police officers, or school resource officers, needed to carry a weapon.
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com
