Florida School District Rethinking Guns in Cars After Principal’s Arrest

One of the many issues with gun-free zones is that they disarm people not just on a piece of property, but on the entire path from where they leave their gun to the door itself. Even if a school, for example, could guarantee safety inside the building and anywhere on the property, which they can’t, there’s literally no way they can guarantee it for people to and from the school.

So it’s a terrible shame that a Florida principal was arrested for having a gun in his privately owned vehicle recently.

The school board, however, seems to think changing the rules might be a wise idea.

Guns on campus are on the table at Duval Schools HQ, according the agenda for a Thursday board workshop meeting.

Two weeks after a principal was arrested and charged with having a gun in his vehicle at Baldwin Middle-Senior High School, the seven-member Duval County School Board will consider changing the policy that prohibits employees from keeping weapons in their vehicles while parked on district property. 

The proposed policy would allow employees and other adults — but not students — to lawfully store guns in cars while parked on school campuses or other district properties. As proposed, the policy allowing guns in cars would include school-sponsored events like football games.

After receiving an anonymous tip that Principal Michael E. Smith had a gun in his truck parked at Baldwin on Sept. 15, Duval County School Police say a gun-sniffing dog located it in Smith’s unlocked vehicle.

Interestingly, the school superintendent, Christopher Bernier, said, “At no time is it safe for anyone to be on our campuses with a gun.”

He later added, “Somebody who violates the safety and the sanctity of our school buildings like this deserves our full attention.”

In other words, there wasn’t a ton of support for Smith at the time.

However, school boards answer to the voters, and that means they will listen to the people, and that’s good, because Bernier is off his freaking rocker with that comment. If a principal isn’t safe with a gun in his truck, then why the hell is he in charge of hundreds of children?

Honestly, that is such an inane comment to make, and Smith shouldn’t face charges for exercising his Second Amendment right, nor should anyone else, especially when they leave a gun in their vehicle. 

As a result, should the school board make the clearly needed changes, you’ll have families that can protect themselves to and from sporting events, school plays, and other functions.

The truth of the matter, though, is that this is on the Duval County School Board in the first place. The default in Florida is that guns are allowed in the vehicles, and they voted to go a different direction. Now that one of their administrators is in hot water, suddenly they see a problem. Now they’re considering it.

When it was just the regular folks who have children who attend the schools there, it was different. They weren’t approved and vetted enough, but now it’s a principal, and everything is totally different.

I have to wonder what the kids thought about seeing their principal being arrested. That had to be a wild discussion over the dinner tables that night.

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