U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Representative:
On behalf of the 3 million members of the National Education Association, educators who are committed to teaching, supporting, and protecting students in communities across America, we ask you to vote NO on the Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act (LEOSA) Reform Act, H.R. 354. Votes related to this legislation may be included in the NEA Report Card for the 118th Congress.
Virtually no place in America is safe from gun violence. Besides the massacres we suffer through in schools, stores, concert venues, houses of worship, and other public and private spaces, we endure shootings that take the lives of children playing in front of their homes or coming home from a rec center, or parents returning from work. The aftermath of trauma and pain alter us in profound ways—particularly our young people.
The LEOSA Reform Act will not make us safer. The legislation will in fact bring more guns to the places we gather, by expanding the authority for active and retired law enforcement officers to carry concealed firearms across state lines. H.R. 354 allows for the carrying of concealed firearms in almost all places open to the public.
H.R. 354 would:
- Undermine long-established gun safety protections, including the exemptions for gun free zones such as schools;
- Override state laws on concealed carry, forcing states to allow off-duty and retired law enforcement (from their own agencies and from agencies in every other state) to carry concealed firearms to places such as school property and playgrounds, government facilities, national parks, buses, trains, subways, and boats;
- Relax training standards, enabling some people to carry a concealed firearm even though three years may have passed since their last firearms training certification;
- Unravel federal laws that have kept firearms out of federal facilities that are open to the public and classified as Facility Security Level I or Facility Security Level II; and
- Require determining the security level of federal facilities on a case-by-case basis, leading to confusion and uncertainty in the absence of a comprehensive listing of what constitutes various security levels.
NEA members envision an America where families and communities are no longer shattered by gun violence. We can only attain this goal by enacting commonsense gun reforms and providing greater access to mental health resources to support those in need of intervention. Educators and students are leading the way through their fierce activism and courage, and we ask Congress to join with us by passing laws that will bring about real safety and true peace of mind. Please vote NO on the LEOSA Reform Act, H.R. 354.
Sincerely,
Marc Egan
Director of Government Relations
National Education Association
