SALT LAKE CITY, April 27, 2021 (Gephardt Daily) — Utah Attorney General Sean D. Reyes has signed a letter urging Congress to pass the EAGLES Act, a national program to prevent targeted school violence, a statement from his office says.
The legislation is named after the mascot of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School where 17 people were killed on February 14, 2018. The Act would expand the U.S. Secret Service’s National Threat Assessment Center with a greater focus on school violence prevention. Reyes is among a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general sending a letter to Congressional leaders. Click here to see the letter and those who signed it.
The Act’s safe school initiative contains research and training components, allows the dissemination of evidence-based practices, and authorizes the NTAC to work with state and local officials to develop research and training.
“It’s heartbreaking how frequent school shootings have become,” Reyes said in a prepared statement. “I support a multi-faceted approach to stopping these cowardly and heinous crimes. I see National Threat Assessment Center training as a start to reducing gun violence at schools.
“However, federal, state, and local officials must work together more efficiently if our country is going to reduce or eradicate school shootings. I am hopeful that this additional training can lead to strategic community-based solutions that will ensure our children are better protected in the years to come.”
The letter is sponsored by Tennessee Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery III and Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul and is joined by the Attorneys General of Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, N. Mariana Islands, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, and Wisconsin.
