The fact that it’s illegal to take guns to schools always bears repeating.
That was the message Wednesday when Second Judicial District Attorney Sam Bregman, surrounded by city, county and educational leaders, announced a renewed “anti-gun” initiative.
At the news conference, he said the initiative will include posting signs in schools, encouraging gun owners to keep their weapons secure and continuing to prosecute those who bring guns to school.
“Anyone who is in possession of a firearm on any school campus will be immediately arrested. A juvenile will be prosecuted in juvenile court (and) charged as a felon. An adult will also be arrested immediately … and will be charged as well with a felony,” Bregman said.
“You may think that somehow bringing a gun to school might be cool. But it’s not. Don’t ruin your life,” he added.
Having a gun on or near campus is already against state and federal law. But Bregman also pointed to the recently passed House Bill 9, better known as the Bennie Hargrove Gun Safety Act, which outlaws failing to keep guns out of children’s reach.
The law is named after the 13-year-old Washington Middle School student who was shot and killed on campus by another 13-year-old who had taken his father’s gun to school.
“I support the Second Amendment, but we need responsible gun owners,” Bregman said.
The news conference also comes in the wake of a deadly shooting in Nashville, Tenn. on Monday, when a former student of a Christian school killed three children and three adults, and after a 17-year-old allegedly shot and wounded two administrators at a high school in Denver last week.
There have been 13 incidents involving guns on Albuquerque Public Schools campuses so far this school year, with the most recent one coming in early March. Last school year, there were 10 in total.
Bregman couldn’t immediately say how many of this year’s incidents have been prosecuted.
“My understanding (is) that last year, there’s been no one that’s had a gun — that we’ve been able to show that they have had a gun on campus — that has not been prosecuted,” he said, referring to juveniles. “We believe we are 100% prosecuting. We are going to continue that.”
Carrying a gun on campus also results in an automatic, one-year expulsion for students, APS Superintendent Scott Elder said.
Other parts of the initiative will include informing and educating school communities about keeping guns out of schools. In the coming months, new “gun free zone” signs warning people of the legal penalties involved with carrying firearms on campus will be posted in schools.
The district said that many of the anti-gun signs that were already in schools have faded or been removed.
APS and law enforcement officials also emphasized the community responsibility to “say something” about any potential threats to schools, and also encouraged gun owners to keep their weapons locked up.
“We all have a role in keeping our schools safe,” Elder said.
“This isn’t an APS problem. This isn’t an Albuquerque Police Department problem. This is a City of Albuquerque, Bernalillo County, State of New Mexico problem,” Albuquerque Police Chief Harold Medina added.
