Biden Silent on Hardening School Security in Prime Time Address on Gun Violence

President Joe Biden delivered a 20-minute prime-time address about gun violence on Thursday in which he mentioned a litany of gun control policies without mentioning the need for hardening school security.

Responding to the horrific school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, last week that left 19 children dead along with two teachers, the president laid out a number of proposals on Thursday, from Red Flag laws to increasing the gun purchase age limit above 18 to banning assault weapons, but nowhere throughout his speech did he mention the need to place armed security guards on school campuses or bettering school security overall. Conservatives took notice on social media:

If Biden wants to cut down on gun violence, a great start would be endorsing stop-and-frisk and broken windows policing in big cities.

Follow that up with more funding to harden schools and other soft targets, paired with training for staff who want to arm themselves.

— Spencer Brown (@itsSpencerBrown) June 3, 2022

Also, ban “gun-free zones” — they’re pointless and only invite more violence.

— Spencer Brown (@itsSpencerBrown) June 3, 2022

Democrats will do anything they can to ERASE the 2nd Amendment. They don’t want to harden schools. They’re doing NOTHING to address higher crimes. They just want to eliminate your rights. No REAL solutions!

— Ronny Jackson (@RonnyJacksonTX) June 3, 2022

Contrary to early reports, the shooter in Uvalde was not met with armed force from a “good guy with a gun” before entering the school to commit his massacre. As Breitbart News noted at the time: “Supporters of gun control had seized on early reports that a “good guy with a gun” had failed to stop the shooting. Local police who entered the building retreated after an exchange of gunfire, until Border Patrol officers entered and killed him.”

On Tuesday, Biden’s press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre outright said the administration does not support hardening schools.

“I know there’s been conversation about hardening schools, that is not something he believes in,” Jean-Pierre told reporters at a White House press conference. “He believes that we should be able to give teachers the resources to be able to do their job.”

“We are the only country that is dealing with gun violence at the rate that we’re dealing, and other countries have mental health issues. So what’s the problem here?” Jean-Pierre added. “The problem is with guns, and not having legislation to really deal with an issue that is a pandemic here in this country.”

As Breitbart News reported, a recent poll showed that a majority of Americans support arming teachers and school staff with concealed firearms.

“Fifty-four percent either strongly or somewhat support the arming of teachers and staff to respond to a school shooting. Just 35 percent either somewhat or strongly oppose the measure,” said the report.