PROJECT AS A WHOLE. WE SHOW YOU HOW CONSTRUCTION CREWS LIKE THIS ONE ARE KEEPING COOL. IT’S BEEN
NEARLY FIVE MONTHS IN STATE
LAWMAKERS DECIDED TO COME
TOGETHER TO MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS
ABOUT HOW TO KEEP KIDS SAFER IN
SCHOOL. SO FAR, THE SCHOOL
SAFETY TASK FORCE HASN’T MADE
ANYTHING FINAL. LET’S BRING IN
GRANT HERMES, WHO SPOKE WITH THE
TEACHER ON THAT COMMISSION. AND
I GUESS THE QUESTION GRANT IS
WHY IS THIS TAKING SO LONG NOW?
AND THAT’S THE QUESTION JASON
AND SANDRA ALI THIS TEACHER
WANTS ANSWER. JUSTIN GILBERT HAS
BEEN ON THE SCHOOL’S SAFETY
COMMISSION FOR ABOUT TWO YEARS
NOW WAS STARTED AFTER THE
PARKLAND FLORIDA SCHOOL SHOOTING
, AND STILL, SHE SAYS SHE WANTS
MORE TO BE DONE FROM LAWMAKERS
WHO HAVE TASKED THEMSELVES WITH
PREVENTING THE NEXT SCHOOL
STRATEGY. IN THE WEEKS AFTER THE
SHOOTING THAT TOOK FOUR LIVES AT
OXFORD HIGH SCHOOL, MICHIGAN,
LAWMAKERS RESTARTED A TASK FORCE
FOR REPUBLICANS FOR DEMOCRATS TO
TAKE ON WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE TO
MAKE SCHOOLS SAFER AFTER MONTHS
HAVE GONE BY ONLY A SINGLE BILL
HAS BEEN MADE LAW. I FIGURED THE
MORE HANDS ON DECK THE BETTER,
RIGHT, I WONDERED. WHAT THEY
WOULD DO DIFFERENTLY THAN WHAT
WE’VE ALREADY DONE. BUT THERE’S
SO MUCH THAT THEY COULD BE DOING
THAT, IN MY OPINION THEY SHOULD
BE DOING. GALBRAITH IS AN EIGHTH
GRADE ENGLISH AND SPANISH
TEACHER IN TROY IS ALSO A MEMBER
OF THE STATE’S SCHOOL SAFETY
COMMISSION. WHILE SHE ISN’T
SPEAKING FOR THE COMMISSION, SHE
HAS AGREED TO TALK AS ONE OF ITS
MEMBERS. IT’S FRUSTRATING. WHEN
YOU KNOW WHAT THE WHAT THE HOLES
IN THE LAW ARE AND YOU SEE BILLS
BE PROPOSED REPEATEDLY IN AN
OPINION PIECE IN BRIDGE MAGAZINE
, ALBURY SAYS THE STATE DOESN’T
NEED A NEW TASK FORCE JUST
LAWMAKERS TO STEP UP. WE WERE
FORMED AFTER UM PARKLAND. IT WAS
WITHIN SIX MONTHS. THE
RECOMMENDATIONS WERE PUBLISHED
AND NOW IT’S FOUR YEARS LATER
AND WERE IN PROGRESS, SAYS THE
SCHOOL SAFETY COMMISSION, WHICH
WORKS ALONGSIDE THE DEPARTMENT
OF EDUCATION. MICHIGAN STATE
POLICE AND TEACHERS LIKE HER CAN
ONLY MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS, NOT
LAWS, AND SHE’S FELT STUCK IN
THE WORK THEY’VE BEEN ABLE TO
DO, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT COMES TO
CHANGING MICHIGAN’S GUN LAWS. I
DON’T KNOW. THAT I CAN POINT THE
FINGER AT THE COMMISSION. WE’RE
NOT LAWMAKERS, AND I DON’T KNOW
THAT IT’S FAIR TO POINT THE
FINGER JUST THAT THOSE EIGHT
LEGISLATORS ON THE SCHOOL SAFETY
TASK FORCE IN THE HOUSE BUT THIS
IS THEIR JOB. AND THESE ARE
BILLS. THESE ARE LAWS THAT THE
VAST MAJORITY OF PEOPLE SUPPORT
RIGHT NOW IN MICHIGAN, THERE ARE
NO LAWS ON SAFE GUN STORAGE. NO
RED FLAG LAWS OR LAWS DESIGNED
TO KEEP GUNS OUT OF THE HANDS OF
DOMESTIC ABUSERS. IN FACT, 24
BILLS WITH MEASURES COMMONLY
CONSIDERED TO BE COMMON SENSE
HAVEN’T MOVED FORWARD IN LANSING
, MOST FILED IN THE DAYS AFTER
OXFORD. DO WE THINK IT COULD
NEVER COME HERE? IT WAS ONLY A
MATTER OF TIME UNTIL IT DID. AND
NOW FOUR KIDS IN OXFORD ARE
GONE. WHAT WHAT WE’RE DOING
ISN’T ENOUGH. THE STATE’S
CURRENT SCHOOL TASK FORCE DID
RELEASE PRELIMINARY
RECOMMENDATIONS, THINGS LIKE
SCHOOL SAFETY ASSESSMENTS OR
FUNDING FOR MENTAL HEALTH
PROGRAMS, BUT NO RECOMMENDATIONS
ABOUT GUNS. FOR GALBRAITH, WHO
TEACHES AND HAS CHILDREN OF HER
OWN. THE LONGER LAWMAKERS TAKE
WITH THEIR RECOMMENDATIONS, THE
MORE THOUGHTS THAT ARE SUPPOSED
TO BE UNTHINKABLE AREN’T OOH.
THIS WHICH WOULD PROTECT MY
STUDENTS, BUT MAYBE RISK MYSELF
OR SHOULD I DO THIS? WHICH WOULD
PROTECT MYSELF AND MAYBE
PRESERVE MYSELF FROM MY OWN
CHILDREN, BUT NOT, YOU KNOW, AND
NO ONE SHOULD HAVE TO BE IN THAT
POSITION. BUT STILL, THERE’S
HOPE. THAT MAYBE THIS TIME WILL
BE DIFFERENT WHEN YOU GET THE
NEWS OF AN EVOLVED E AND YOU’RE
AT SCHOOL. AND IT’S LIKE OH,
TODAY THIS EVIL LANDED HERE.
WHERE IS IT GOING TO LAND
TOMORROW? AND FOR THEIR PART,
I’VE SPOKEN TO SEVERAL LAWMAKERS
ON THE SCHOOL STAGES TASK FORCE
. THEY SAID THAT DISCUSSIONS
HAVE BEEN FRANK. THEY’VE BEEN
PERSONAL AND PRODUCTIVE. BUT
THERE ARE SOME WORRIES ABOUT
PRODUCTIVITY COULD BE A LITTLE
FRAGILE BECAUSE RIGHT NOW, EVEN
JUST THE RUMOR OF CHANGING GUN
LAWS IN MICHIGAN COULD SPOOK
SOME REPUBLICANS IN THIS VERY
POLITICALLY CHARGED ELECTION
YEAR. BACK TO YOU. AND THAT SAID
GRANT, WOULD THE GOVERNOR DID
JUST SIGN ALL LAW THAT SIGNED
INTO LAW SCHOOL SAFETY BILL WAS
ANYTHING IN THAT THAT THE
TEACHER THAT YOU SPOKE WITH WAS
HOPING TO SEE SOME OF THAT
STUFF, SHE SAID, WAS GOOD. THE
SCHOOL SAFETY ASSESSMENT STUFF
THE SCHOOL MAPPING STUFF. A LOT
OF THE BILL WAS ALSO A BIG CHUNK
OF MENTAL HEALTH FUNDING FOR
SPECIFICALLY OXFORD. ALL OF
THAT, SHE SAID, WAS GOOD, BUT
ALSO A LOT OF THAT STUFF.
SCHOOLS HAVE ALREADY BEEN DOING
SINCE SANDY HOOK AND PARKLAND.
SHE’S REALLY HOPING, SHE SAID.
OTHER TEACHERS AS WELL ARE
REALLY HOPING FOR SOME WORK TO
GET DONE ON GUN LAWS MOVING
FORWARD. YEAH TO YOU ANY LITTLE