Local Officials Skewer NRA Proposal

The NRA's Wayne LaPierre would turn American schools into an armed camp, complete with an armed police officer at every school in the land.

Elected officials and community leaders think that's nonsense.

"Our priority is to make our schools a safe haven for our children," said superintendent of Plainview-Old Bethpage schools, in a sentiment echoed across the political spectrum.

"The solution is not to escalate the number of firearms available in society and certainly not in schools," she said Friday. "Our schools must be a place of joy, welcoming students to engaged learning spaces. Guns do not send that message to us."

"It's absolutely ridiculous," said D-Woodbury, of the NRA's proposal. "We can't turn schools into armed camps. What would we do, have one gunman opposing another and getting kids caught in the middle?"

Rep. D-Huntington, described LaPierre's statements as “tragically out of touch."

"We do not need an arms race in our schools," Israel said. "We need common-sense initiatives like limits on high-capacity assault magazines and closing the gun show loophole. It's time for common ground, not more guns on school playgrounds.”

R-Seaford, is largely in agreement:

“Except in extremely rare cases, armed police are not the answer to school violence," said King, the chairman of the powerful House Homeland Security Committee. "What we must have are common-sense guns laws such as banning assault weapons and ending the gun show loophole.”

Even the police think LaPierre's proposals are unrealistic:

""Why don't we just have cops at every movie theater now too?" said Nassau PBA President James Carver. "And maybe at every post office? And every place else where there's been mass killings?"

Carver described LaPierre's ideas as "ludicrous."

"Kids -- especially grammar school kids -- shouldn't have to walk into a school with police set up there [with] the fear that there's something bound to happen," Carver said.

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Instead, many believe a better solution is examining the root cause of the problem:

"I think that we need to allocate resources to deal with the mentally disabled so that incidents such as the tragedy in Connecticut are no more," Dr. Lewis said.

Jacobs agrees funding must be in place to address deranged individuals before they have a chance to murder and maim innocents.

On the floor of the Nassau County Legislature this week Jacobs criticized Nassau County's proposed 2013 budget for slashing mental health program funding by nearly 50 percent from 2012 levels.

"We, unfortunately, do not have powers to enforce stricter gun laws on the county level, but we certainly have the power to provide mental health programs in the county and, thereby, serve as a model for the state and federal governments," Jacobs said.

Matthew Hogan contributed to this report.

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