Morial Calls for More Resources to Create Safer Communities;
Says Armed Guards—Under Any Name—Do Not Belong in Schools;
Washington, DC (January 16, 2013) – National Urban League (www.nul.org) president and CEO Marc H. Morial today called President Obama’s plan to address gun violence a step in the right direction.
“We applaud the White House commitment to finally address the plague of senseless gun violence and are encouraged by the commitment to increase resources for mental health counseling and programs to address that help to create safer communities.
“We stand ready to work with the White House to lend our expertise in creating the kinds of programs that help create safer communities through out-of-school activities for kids, and programs that teach anger management and conflict resolution strategies, and provide jobs and job training.
“While we understand the desire to create the safest environment for our children, we remain adamantly opposed to placing armed guards in schools. Of particular concern to us is their interaction with children of color, whose discipline issues are often dealt with as criminal matters--effectively fast-tracking them into the juvenile justice system.”
Morial added that he has been troubled by the extremist rhetoric, over-the-top ads and scare tactics used by the commercial gun lobby that promote a tortured and distorted interpretation of the Second Amendment. “To work against reasonable and commonsense measures to make our communities safer is bad enough; to exploit these tragedies for profit is beyond despicable,” Morial said.
”As a nation, we have been horrified by the tragedies in Columbine, Aurora, Oak Creek and, now, Newtown. But as Americans, we should be equally heartbroken and outraged by the daily tragedies occurring in cities throughout the country. The time for half-measures is over, and we urge Congress to resist inaction, to act quickly to make commonsense gun reform a top priority,” Morial concluded.
CONTACT: Pamela Rucker Springs
(202) 898-1604
