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Sen. George Barker

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Virginia School Safety Panel: Restore Resource Officer Funding, Tighten Gun Penalties

Gov. Bob McDonnell's task force releases recommendations to the General Assembly.

By Blake Belden, Capital News Service Gov. Bob McDonnell is urging state legislators to approve recommendations from his School and Campus Safety Task Force that would increase sentences for illegally buying guns, require mandatory lockdown drills at schools and establish more comprehensive suicide prevention programs, among other suggestions. Northern Virginia State Sen. George Barker (D-39th), who represents Burke, serves on the task force. McDonnell sent the General Assembly a letter outlining initial recommendations from the panel, which the governor established in the wake of December’s school shootings in Newtown, Conn., where a gunman killed 26 people, including 20 children. In the letter, McDonnell highlighted those recommendations…

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