Pictured is Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb, the city's fourth Black mayor

Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Cleveland's fourth Black mayor, who took office in January, said during a press conference on Tuesday that teachers and non-security personnel employed by the city's largely Black public school district, which the city mayor controls pursuant to a state law, are banned from carrying firearms in schools.

Mayor Justin Bibb said Tuesday that arming teachers with guns in the city's public schools is not the answer to escalating crime in the city and its schools and that he is admantaly against permitting "teachers to bring weapons into our schools."

Ohio school districts could begin arming employees as soon as the start of the 2022-2023 academic school year under legislation approved last week by Republican lawmakers and set to be signed into law momentarily by GOP Gov. Mike DeWine.

Democrats oppose the legislation, House Bill 99, which would allow educators to carry guns after less than 24 hours of training and is optional for school districts. They say it sends the wrong message, and that it is dangerous.

Gun control advocates, law enforcement organizations and the state's teachers unions have also expressed opposition.

The mayor's announcement comes after state lawmakers, also relative to HB99, last week slashed the number of training hours required for K-12 staff to carry firearms on school grounds and as March For Our Lives Cleveland and Women's March Cleveland will host a mass rally to end gun violence and for reproductive rights on the steps of Cleveland City Hall and noon on Sat., June 11 and then march to nearby Public Square, one of some 500 sibling marches planned nationwide by March For Our Lives National, which will host its on rally that day in Washington D.C . (Click here to voluntarily register on Facebook for the open-to-the-public Save Roe rally and march for our lives on June11 at noon on the steps of Cleveland City Hall. Click here to register for the event at mobilizeus Mayor Bibb is among the speakers at the event, which will also include students, activists, other elected officials, and gun control and reproductive rights and women's advocates. Other greater Cleveland dignataries speaking at the event include state Sen Nickie Antonio, former state senator Nina Turner, Cleveland City Councilman Joe Jones, Democratic Lt Governor Candidate and Cuyahoga County Councilwoman Cheryl Stephens, County Poet Laureate Honey Bell Bey and Democratic Ohio Attorney General Nominee State Rep Jeff Crossman of Parma).

Bibb and Cleveland Metropolitan School District CEO Eric Gordon said that school district officials intend to ban teachers and other non-security personnel from carrying guns in Cleveland schools, after state lawmakers slashed the number of training hours required for K-12 staff to carry firearms on school grounds.

The decision is in response to the section of House Bill 99 that requires at least 24 hours of training before teachers and staff can carry guns in schools, and an additional eight hours of training each year. That’s far less than current law, upheld by the Ohio Supreme Court last year, which only allows educators to carry if they undergo basic peace-officer training, consisting of 600-plus hours of training, or if they worked in law enforcement for 20 years.The bill also allows local school boards to make their own security decisions.

The Cleveland Board of Education, whose members are appointed by the mayor per a state law that elminated the elected school board and took effect in 1998, is slated to address a resolution from Gordon on the issue of guns in schools at its next meeting.

The mayor said that he hopes that other Northeast Ohio school districts will follow his lead and that he is “urging every school in this city and every district in this region not to allow weapons in our schools, because arming our teachers with guns is not the solution.”

While mobile officers are allowed to carry weapons on school grounds, Cleveland schools security officers do not have such a privilege.

When state lawmakers passed House Bill 99 last week, it was a  response to the May 24 mass-shooting of 19 children and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas.

As the bill awaits the signature of Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s, he faces reelection against, Democratic gubernatorial nominee Nan Whaley, a former Dayton, Ohio mayor and a gun control advocate.

Black leaders and the Cleveland NAACP say House Bill 99 is nothing more than a  band aid approach to dealing with violence in schools and that it is irresponsible legislation that puts Black school children at risk as well as Black teachers and administrators, among other school affiliates.

Ohio lawmakers have also significantly loosened its conceal-carry law Starting June 13, individuals won’t need a permit or any training to carry a concealed handgun.

Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, the most read Black digital newspaper and Black blog in Ohio and in the Midwest. Tel: (216) 659-0473. Email: editor@clevelandurbannews.com. We interviewed former president Barack Obama one-on-one when he was campaigning for president. As to the Obama interview, CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE AT CLEVELAND URBAN NEWS.COM, OHIO'S LEADER IN BLACK DIGITAL NEWS.