Published: February 10, 2006 09:43 am            

Has Senate diluted gun bill way too much?

There are a handful of people who should be permitted to bring a hand gun onto the property of a school. And all of them carry badges. Police officers, sheriff’s deputies. You get the idea.

But after a plea from National Rifle Association official Darren LaSorte, a State Senate committee guiding legislation making it a felony to bring a firearm onto school grounds has weakened Senate Bill 12 considerably.

"If we pass this bill, we're going to have a loophole you could drive a Mack truck through, and it's going to make prosecution almost impossible" for carrying guns onto school grounds, Sen. Ernesto Scorsone, D-Lexington, told the Associated Press.

And that’s unforgivable.

LaSorte said the bill is aimed at law-abiding people carrying guns onto property they don't know is owned by schools.

"That person can still be charged and convicted for a felony," he told the Senate Judiciary Committee. "This is very serious stuff."

But state law already protects people who unknowingly are on school property with a gun.

The new legislation is aimed at people who know they are packing, and still enter a school.

In this day and age, that’s very dangerous.

“If you do it knowingly, or if you're a kid bringing a gun into school, or you're an adult walking into a school with a gun, you've got no business doing that," Scorsone said.

Agreed. And Kentucky’s lawmakers should make it clear that they’re not going to stand for it.

Legislators concur that there has been some confusion about where schools should post “No Guns Allowed” signs on their grounds.

Under the diluted bill, those who bring guns into schools where signs are not posted would not face prosecution. They simply would be asked to leave the premises.

On the other hand, if signs are posted, the crime would be a felony punishable by up to five years in prison.

Sen. Gerald Neal, D-Louisville, said he worried the bill would be too restrictive for police officers who encounter someone with a weapon who appears suspicious.

"I want them to be in a position to do something, and not just ask somebody to leave the property," said Neal, who voted against the bill.

I have to agree with Senators who opposed the revamped bill.

We certainly should respect the rights of gun owners.

But they have no business whatsoever taking a weapon onto school grounds.

        

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