AFT’s Weingarten Responds to Gun Violence Prevention Executive Order

WASHINGTON—AFT President Randi Weingarten responds to a new executive order directing federal agencies to combat emerging firearms threats and improve school-based active shooter drills:

“President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are serious about safety on our streets and in our schools. They have taken meaningful action to reduce gun violence in our communities, and FBI data show that murder and violent crime have dropped under their watch. The commonsense tools they have championed, such as increased background checks and community violence intervention programs, have had a great impact.

“While more must be done—including banning weapons of war in civilian hands—so we never have another mass school shooting, the Office of Gun Violence Prevention, under Harris’ leadership, has begun pathbreaking work to help communities recover from incidents of gun violence. 

“Today, the administration is taking additional steps to save lives. While addressing emerging firearms threats, this executive order also focuses on the less noticeable effects of gun violence, like the traumatizing impact of school-based active shooter drills. These drills, when organized poorly, can create stress for students, teachers and parents. That’s why, after seeing the impact on students firsthand, the AFT and Teachers Unify to End Gun Violence in 2020 announced opposition to active shooter drills that use the firing of blank ammunition, fake blood, the simulation of death or any other potentially traumatizing actions.  

“This executive order will help ensure that the safety measures taken in response to gun violence are effective and do not have unintended consequences.”