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Educators Rally At Michigan Capitol Over Gun Violence

Chuck Alberts, the president of the Lansing Teachers Association, was one of the dozens of people standing in front of the Michigan Capitol Tuesday night as lawmakers made their way home.

"We can't just keep legislating schools into fortified areas," said Chuck Alberts, Lansing Teachers Association president. "We really have to talk about the risk that are out there in our society that are impacting schools. We need legislation for that. What we really hope is that educators get to go to the table and talk about our experiences and what some real solutions would be."

He says the goal was to remind legislators of the real people affected by school violence.

One parent says she's concerned about rifles falling into the wrong hands and wants a ban on AR-15s.

"It doesn't matter if they are being sold to a rifle gun owner, a safe person now. we're going to continue to see this happen, we're going to see it happen more because these guns are going to end up in the hands of people who are not safe to handle them," said parent Julie Hubbard.

Her demands were echoed by mid-Michigan teacher Stacey Cadogan.

"I feel like ar-15s should not be in the hands of civilians because that's what has been killing our kids across America and it's not okay at all. Kids should not die, killing should not happen," said Cadogan.

But not all educators agree.

Republican State Representative Brad Paquette began his teaching career in 2013, before being elected to the state house in 2018.

He says getting students engaged both in and out of the classroom would help establish community---- and he believes that's a better solution to gun violence.

"If someone really wants to cause harm, they will find a way to do that. and that's part of a deeper discussion which is a cultural issue is why," said Paquette.

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