WASHINGTON, D.C. (WAFF) – There are many questions being asked of lawmakers on what to do about gun violence in the United States after a school shooting in Texas left 21 dead on Tuesday.
Senator Tommy Tuberville said that mental health needs to be addressed across the country. He also believes that a report that was commissioned in 2018 on school safety provides important examples on how to prevent further incidents like what occurred in Uvalde, Texas.
Of the 21 individuals that were killed, 19 were children and two were teachers.
Sen. Tuberville expressed grief and sorrow following the shooting that occurred in Uvalde.
“Yesterday (Tuesday), I joined folks across Alabama and the nation in feeling grief, sorrow and anger as we learned about the tragedy in Uvalde,” Sen. Tuberville said on Wednesday. “It is a parent’s worst fear and nightmare. No community should have to live through this. Our heart aches for those that are lost, especially the children and their families.”
In the report that Sen. Tuberville references, there are three sections: Prevent, Protect and Mitigate and Respond and Recover.
Each section provides steps for schools to prevent an incident from occurring, but also steps on how to respond if an incident happens despite preventative measures.
Sen. Tuberville said the steps that the report highlights are important for any school in the U.S. that wants to implement stronger security measures.
“The Commission issued important recommendations on topics ranging from emotional support to school safety,” Sen. Tuberville said. “This report and these recommendations are available today for use by any school. Understanding and implementing these recommendations is the key to helping prevent future tragedies.”
According to Sen. Tuberville, the biggest key in preventing school shootings is for teachers and administrators to have a plan.
“My message to the parents and to the schools and to the administrators is, ‘have a plan’,” Sen. Tuberville said. “We just don’t have school. We’re in a different time. We’re in a different era.”
“It’s good versus evil time in our country. There’s no way we can 100% protect everybody, but we can use these provisions that I just talked about to help, to safeguard every young man and woman in school across this country, but there has to be a plan.”
