Barron's School Takes Out Gun Control Ad

Photo credit: Getty
Photo credit: Getty

From Town & Country

This Sunday, a full-page ad will run in the Washington Post urging President Trump, members of Congress, and other lawmakers to enact "vigorous" gun control measures and to abandon the idea of arming teachers. The plea will be signed by 125 private, independent schools, including St. Andrew's Episcopal in Potomac, Maryland, where the President's son Barron in currently a student.

Per the Post, the advertisement will read in part:

For years now, citizens of the United States have endured mass shootings in public venues, neighborhoods and communities, houses of worship, colleges and universities, and our schools. Children, our most vulnerable citizens and our hope for the future, are dying from gun violence, again and again.

Statistics from countries around the globe show that it is possible to minimize gun deaths through common-sense legislation. Here in the United States, we see that easy access to weapons, particularly those of military-style design, results in significantly higher levels of gun violence.

We urge our President, our Congress, and our state leaders to enact specific, vigorous measures to reduce gun violence in our society, particularly in our schools. We need a robust system of registration and background checks, with a particular eye toward weapons capable of rapidly firing a vast number of deadly shots. We need stronger mental health services and more effective communication among agencies responsible for the well-being of children, adults and families. What we do not need is to arm our teachers with guns, which is dangerous and antithetical to our profession as educators.

The advertisement will reportedly run in several papers. In the story today, the Post notes that the White House has not responded to a request for comment.

Barron is the first presidential child to attend the school. (Barron and the First Lady had spent the first few months of President Trump's administration in New York City, while Barron finished school. He started at St. Andrew's in the fall of 2017.)

"We are very excited for our son to attend St. Andrew's Episcopal School. It is known for its diverse community and commitment to academic excellence," First Lady Melania Trump said in a statement back in May of 2017. "The mission of St. Andrew's is 'to know and inspire each child in an inclusive community dedicated to exceptional teaching, learning, and service,' all of which appealed to our family."

This Sunday marks the March for Our Lives, a gun control demonstration in Washington, D.C. and throughout the country organized by the survivors of the Valentine's Day shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida.

[h/t The Cut]

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