Education Secretary Betsy DeVos revealed on Tuesday that the president’s school safety commission will not consider the impact of guns in gun violence.
“That is not part of the commission’s charge per se,” Mrs. DeVos explained to the Senate appropriations subcommittee for education.
Sen. Patrick Leahy, Vermont Democrat, challenged Mrs. DeVos’ answer, and asked if she believed an 18-year-old should have the capability to “walk into a store and minutes later” purchase a AR-15 and massive amounts of ammunition.
Mrs. DeVos responded by stating that she saw that scenario as a matter for Congress to debate and legislate on.
The commission was formed in the aftermath of the deadly Parkland, Florida, shooting in which 17 high school students were killed. At the time, President Trump was vocal about the impact of video games on the uptick of school shootings.
When asked if the commission was comparing the rate of school shootings in other nations with the same amount of video game usage, Mrs. DeVos again responded, “not per se.”
“So, we’ll look at gun violence in schools but not look at guns. It’s an interesting concept,” Mr. Leahy said.
• Gabriella Muñoz can be reached at gmunoz@washingtontimes.com.
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