Lincoln, NE – Sen. Deb Fischer is inexcusably silent on the jaw-dropping statement about school safety by U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos — the woman she supported for the job.
On Tuesday, DeVos floored members of a Senate Appropriations subcommittee when she said that looking at the role of guns in school safety was not a focus of the federal school safety commission she chairs.
“That is not part of the commission’s charge, per se,” DeVos said, according to CNN. response to a question from Vermont Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy about whether the commission would look at the role of firearms.
DeVos said that the commission’s focus is “school safety and how we can ensure our students are safe at school.”
“The absurdity of Betsy DeVos’ statement reinforces the ineptitude that DeVos is showing in her role as Secretary of Education and that Senator Fischer didn’t do her homework when she voted to confirm her,“ said Nebraska Democratic Party chair Jane Kleeb. “Children are being killed in school shootings, and they don’t want to look at the gun issue?”
These, according to Axios, are the 10 deadliest school shootings since Columbine (15 deaths):
- 2007 Virginia Tech University, Blacksburg, Va. — 33 deaths
- 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School, Newtown, Conn. — 27 deaths
- 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Parkland, Fl. — 17 deaths
- 2015 Umpqua Community College, Roseburg, Ore. — 10 deaths
- 2018 Santa Fe High School, Santa Fe, Tex. — 10 deaths
- 2005 Red Lake Senior High School, Red Lake, Minn. — 7 deaths
- 2012 Oikos University, Oakland, Calif. — 7 deaths
- 2006 West Nickel Mines School, Bart Township, Penn. — 6 deaths
- 2008 Northern Illinois University, Dekalb, Il. — 6 deaths
- 2014 Marysville Pilchuck High School, Marysville, Wa. — 5 deaths
“Nebraskans, like all Americans, are horrified that school shootings have become routine,” Kleeb said. “Deb Fischer voted to confirm DeVos, even though she is pathetically unqualified for the job. Fischer’s silence on DeVos’ outrageous statement shows that she continues to fall in line with her party bosses and ignore the concerns — and safety — of Nebraskans.”
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