In the United States, we live in a system that undervalues one of our most precious community resources - teachers. Every day, we drop our kids off at school and place their bodies, hearts, and minds in the care of educators. We believe these educators can keep our community’s children safe, help them learn, develop their minds, and guide their hearts. These same educators that must turn around and beg us for scissors, for tissues, for pencils. These same educators that are over-worked and under-paid and yet spend their own salaries on books and craft supplies and paper.

Our Nebraska schools are underfunded, our teachers are underpaid, and yet, despite not having the money give teachers raises, or give schools bigger budgets, our legislature wants to research what it might look like to pay for teachers to have guns in their classrooms.

We can’t afford books. We can’t afford salaries. But we think we can afford guns.

On Friday, December 1st, there will be a public hearing at the Nebraska State Capitol to discuss LR 220 - a legislative study that seeks to explore the possibility of arming our public school teachers. (Note: This is not a bill, but rather a proposed study. Passing LR 220 will not result in new legislation, rather in approving funds to research future legislation.)

We encourage you to reach out to your senator, and to the members of the Education Committee ahead of Friday’s hearing and ask them to OPPOSE LR 220.

Education Committee: https://nebraskalegislature.gov/committees/landing_pages/index.php?cid=5

Find your Senator: https://nebraskalegislature.gov/senators/senator_find.php

Link to submit online comments: https://nebraskalegislature.gov/bills/view_bill.php?DocumentID=54150

Comments are due by noon on Thursday, November 30th. If you have further questions, please reach out to Gab at manager@theurbanabbey.org