The Alameda Unified School District Board of Education shares the horror and dread felt as a result of the tragedies at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Virginia Tech, Sandy Hook Elementary School, Columbine High School, and other schools that have been victims to gun violence.

Research into reducing gun violence has shown there are numerous legislative steps we can take, including: banning semiautomatic guns, assault weapons, and large capacity ammunition feeding devices; instituting universal background checks for gun and ammunition purchases; instituting government buyback and destruction of all banned guns and large capacity ammunition feeding devices;  taxing ammunition sales; instituting mandatory waiting periods; instituting a national gun registry; and banning guns in all schools except as required by law enforcement for school security measures.

The Alameda Board of Education urges the United States Congress, as well as state and local governments, to immediately enact a series of laws to reduce gun violence and increase support services that will help ensure students across the country are safe in their schools, classrooms, and communities, and that these laws include:

1. Providing additional support in communities and schools for mental health and substance abuse treatment and counseling;
2. Enhancing and evaluating bullying-prevention programs, anti-gang initiatives, and positive behavior support programs;
3. Banning military-style assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines or clips;
4. Requiring any individual purchasing a gun to pass a background check regardless of the location or nature of the sale;
5. Enforcing the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) Improvement Act of 2007 that expands persons included in the national background-check database to those with adjudicated mental health conditions, civil protection orders, arrest warrants, etc.;
6. Removing barriers that prohibit law enforcement from tracking the purchase and use of guns, including those used in crimes;
7. Requiring the national database on violence to include any incidents involving a gun or shooting;
8. Requiring that school security plans are reviewed and updated annually;
9. Ensuring local school authorities retain the authority and discretion to use, equip, train, and deploy security officers in schools;
10. Ensuring that principals have adequate training to maintain a safe and secure school environment, with cooperation from and in partnership with local law enforcement.