Gov. Gina Raimondo and the state’s education commissioner took executive action Wednesday to ban all firearms, except those carried by police officers, from public schools and grounds in Rhode Island.
Speaking at the Department of Education offices, in Providence, they said the move was necessary to close a loophole lawmakers left open last session. That loophole allows concealed guns in schools, while other state laws ban them in public buildings such as state offices and courthouses.
That has generated anxiety and confusion for educators and community members as a new school year begins, they said, particularly since the February shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, which killed 17 students and staff members.
Despite the permissiveness of the conceal carry law, “we have several districts across the state that have been advised by their attorneys that they have the authority to adopt their own district-based policies and procedures,” said Ken Wagner, commissioner of elementary and secondary education.
