The day before she was to testify before President Trump’s school safety commission, Jennifer Johnston, an expert on media coverage of mass shootings, received a phone call from an Education Department advisor who asked her to “refrain” from any gun-control remarks, says the Los Angeles Times. The official, Kent Talbert, cited a section of her pre-submitted testimony that called for federal officials to “greatly restrict the sale of semiautomatic and automatic weapons across states,” Johnston recalled. The assistant psychology professor at Western New Mexico University was stunned that a commission set up after the deadly Parkland, Fla., shooting would ask her to omit something she considered so relevant. Now, nearly five months after its creation, the Federal Commission on School Safety is under criticism for failing to tackle the politically thorny issue of gun control as part of its search for a federal response to the violence.
“I’m not saying in their hearts they don’t want children to be safe, but if you’re not willing to stand up against the gun lobby, not a lot will happen in that respect,” said Abbey Clements, a teacher who survived the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting. During more than 20 hours of testimony in five panels, three field visits and two public listening sessions so far, commission officials have largely avoided, limited or suppressed discussion of gun-control measures. None of the more than 100 people invited to speak at panels or field visits represented gun control groups. The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence says its repeated requests to testify at a panel have been ignored. The panel’s discussions have focused primarily on mental health issues, the role entertainment plays in youth violence and the need to “harden” schools by improving emergency preparedness and increasing law enforcement presence.