(Photo: Scott Utterback, The (Louisville, Ky.) Courier-Journal)
By Joseph Gerth, The (Louisville, Ky.) Courier-Journal
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Sen. Rand Paul on Thursday endorsed the idea of
arming school teachers and principals and again said he plans to file
legislation that would block President Barack Obama's executive orders
designed to limit access to guns.
"I think that self-defense is part of the solution," the Kentucky Republican told the Oldham Chamber and Economic Development.
Obama
outlined a series of gun-related measures Wednesday in response to
last month's shooting at a Connecticut elementary school that left 20
children and six adults dead.
Paul said he believes teachers and principals who have concealed-carry permits should be allowed to carry guns in schools.
"If
my kids were at that school, I would have preferred that the teacher
had concealed-carry and had a gun in her desk," Paul told the group of
about 75 people.
"Is it perfect? No. Would they always get the
killer? No. Would an accident sometimes happen in a melee? Maybe," he
said. "But nobody (at the Newtown, Conn., elementary school) had any
defense, and he just kept shooting until he was tired and he decided to
shoot himself."
Paul said he doesn't know how to solve the
nation's gun violence problem but he doesn't believe that Obama's plan,
which includes ending the sale of assault-style weapons and
large-capacity magazines, will do it.
Furthermore, the Bowling
Green Republican said he believes that several of Obama's executive
orders go too far because, he said, they are essentially "legislation"
that change existing law.
"I'm going to introduce a bill next week that says if an executive order is legislative then it will nullify it," he said.