National PTA and Utah PTA Position Statements:
National PTA Position Statement - Child Safety and Protection
*Promote initiatives to address racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic inequities in the juvenile justice system.
* Encourage collaboration between law enforcement, the judicial system, and child welfare agencies.
*Support research and data collection regarding youth offenses.
National PTA Gun Safety and Violence Prevention Position statement:
National PTA has a rich history of advocating for the safety of children and youth. Our association is committed to federal efforts to protect children and youth from gun violence and strongly believes that Congress must enact legislation that will help prevent future tragedies from occurring while preserving the lawful use of firearms for sport and personal protection. Additionally, National PTA advocates for restricting access to guns from persons who may endanger public safety.
Any effort to improve the safety of our nation's youth and our communities must be comprehensive and include gun safety and violence-prevention measures. Conversations about school safety, gun safety, and violence prevention cannot be limited to video games, violent programming, and mental health. Our nation's leaders must acknowledge and address the ease of access to firearms and assault weapons. We must make every attempt to reduce violence, especially those incidents that involve firearms.
National PTA and its constituent bodies promote the establishment of, and support for legislation that improves youth and community safety and restrict guns to only responsible owners. Practical gun safety and violence prevention legislation will protect not just our children but all Americans from gun violence while at the same time respecting the rights of law-abiding gun owners. We must all work together to end gun violence.
Appropriate evaluation and wrap-around services for students who have brought a firearm to school.
National PTA believes that gun violence can and will decrease through these and other measures. Adoption of the measures above will make our communities, as well as our schools, safe for everyone. National PTA believes we must enact common sense legislation that will reduce gun violence and help protect all children and youth while protecting the lawful use of firearms for sport and personal protection.
