Montgomery Co. schools superintendent calls for education on ‘gun prevalence’

Montgomery County’s School Superintendent Monifa McKnight appeared at the announcement of a gun buyback event in Rockville, Maryland, last week and said she hopes “to launch a campaign to educate our young people about gun prevalence, gun laws, and the consequences of guns.”

Though McKnight didn’t offer specifics, she said she was proud to stand alongside Rockville City Police Chief Victor Brito and Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy to talk about efforts to keep guns out of the hands of young people.



Montgomery County students will return to class Aug. 29, and McKnight said students should have a “psychologically safe” school environment.

“That means that they have to feel safe when they’re walking into our schools, and that means that they have to feel safe as they’re engaging in their communities,” she said.

“The State’s Attorney’s Office wants to be a continuing partner with the schools to educate them about the laws, and the obligations they have, and what role they can play as students so that we don’t have some of the situations we read about like in Uvalde, Texas,” McCarthy said.

At the announcement of the gun buyback program, McCarthy said they’ve doubled the amount of ghost guns seized on the streets of Montgomery County.

“There is absolutely no place for a gun in any school,” McCarthy said.

Kate Ryan

As a member of the award-winning WTOP News, Kate is focused on state and local government. Her focus has always been on how decisions made in a council chamber or state house affect your house. She's also covered breaking news, education and more.

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