Connecticut governor backs proposals to stop school shootings

By Richard Weizel HARTFORD, Conn. (Reuters) - A slew of proposals to reduce school violence following the Sandy Hook shooting massacre won support on Friday from Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy, who said tougher gun control, changes to school design and improved mental healthcare should become law. The Sandy Hook Advisory Commission recommended schools have doors that lock from the inside and called for trigger locks to be placed on all firearms when sold as well. The commission was established after a gunman killed 26 children and educators at the Sandy Hook elementary school in Newtown in December 2012, one of the most horrific school shootings in U.S. history. The Democratic governor called the recommendations in the 256-page report “commonsense proposals.” “The deaths of these children and educators should stand for something, not temporarily, but permanently,” Malloy said. “Whether it is reinforced glass in schools, placing locks on the inside of classroom doors, selling guns with gun locks, or improving mental health programs, these are recommendations that make sense," he said. Drawn up by the 16-member commission, the report features a dozen recommendations for improving school safety, 30 to reduce gun violence and more than 50 to improve mental healthcare, including improved screening and better care for troubled students. “Schools should be sanctified places where children can learn without fearing for their lives, but since Sandy Hook there have been more than 100 school shootings across the country,” said Commission Chairman Scott Jackson. “This report represents a tapestry on ways we can help reduce those shootings and we hope states across the country take a good look," he said. It will be up to Malloy and the Democratic-controlled state legislature whether to act on any of the recommendations in Connecticut. Malloy said fiscal restraints and vocal opposition will make some recommendations “difficult" to enact quickly. “But there have already been changes made in school safety and gun control measures as a result of this commission's work that have already saved lives,” he said. The governor said more than $43 million has been spent in Connecticut on additional public safety at 1,000 schools and $13 million on improved mental health programs. Connecticut already has some of the most stringent gun control laws in the nation. The report notes that the gun used by Adam Lanza, 20, was legally purchased by his mother, whom he shot and killed at their home. He ended his attack by killing himself. (Reporting by Richard Weizel; Editing by Ellen Wulfhorst, Scott Malone, Bill Trott and Eric Beech)