OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — The shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut that left 20 children and six adults dead have a lot of people looking for answers – including a group of moms here in the metro that are petitioning the White House calling for an armed and trained police officer to be placed in every school in the nation.
The group of moms – “JOCO Metro Moms” – say that the tragedy in Connecticut has heightened their sense of responsibility to make sure that all kids are safe at school.
“I found myself crying when I watched the news and I found myself holding my daughter and crying,” said Lea Kucherovsky of JOCO Metro Moms. “Starting this petition has been the first thing that I’ve done to really help me feel like I’m movng forward.”
According to the petition, the police officer’s sole function would be to protect kids from violent attacks like the one at Sandy Hook. The metro group isn’t alone – since the shooting, several other groups around the country have been calling for the same.
“Parents are scared to send their kids to school and they should be. Our schools should be a safe place,” said Kucherovsky.
The idea isn’t without criticism – as some say that the effort wouldn’t necessarily make schools any safer, and it could also be prohibitively expensive. Kucherovsky says that criticism won’t dissuade her or her group.
Click here for more on the petition to have an armed police officer or active-duty military service member at every school in the nation. If the petition gets at least 25,000 signatures, it will receive an official response from the White House.
