Bills “Offend” Superintendent

At student-organized forum on school safety Tuesday night, Columbia Public Schools superintendent Dr. Chris Belcher told Hickman High School students, parents and staff that he was “offended” by two bills in the state legislature that would allow faculty and staff to bring a gun on campus if they have a valid conceal and carry license.Belcher said he wanted that decision to come from local districts themselves. Earlier this year, co-sponsor Mike Kelley (R-Lamar) told ABC 17 News state law may already allow individual school boards make that decision.He was joined on a panel by radio host Gary Nolan, Columbia police Sgt. Joe Bernhard, University of Missouri law professor David Mitchell and MU sociology professor Wayne Brekhus.The topic of the monthly Speak Your Mind forum was “School Safety,” but the discussion was dominated by debate on the issue of guns on campus.Both professors argued against the plan, Nolan argued that it would be the only sure protection in a mass shooter situation.”It opens more questions,” said Hickman parent Marty Brennan. “It’s a difficult decision and I can see both sides of the story and I’m just glad I don’t have to make that decision.”Brennan attended the forum with his son Sean, a senior at Hickman High School. Audience questions came exclusively from students, one of the first times the topic has been publicly discussed and dissected with a focus on students.”They were talking about the mental development of students,” Sean said. “Sure, scientifically our brains probably aren’t finished growing for another several years. That doesn’t mean we don’t have ideas or our own opinions and that we don’t think about those issues seriously.”The Speak Your Mind forum is held for, and organized by, students at Hickman High School every month. Organizers told ABC 17 News Tuesday that the school safety topic was a natural choice given the debates going on in Washington D.C. and Jefferson City.