What to Know
- A New York assemblywoman has proposed a bill to get rid of rifle teams at schools
- Linda Rosenthal says they promote gun culture in schools, and says suspected Parkland shooter Nikolas Cruz himself competed on a rifle team
- Gun owners say the ban is completely unnecessary, and that the competitors are using air rifles, not regular weapons
Rifle teams have been a staple of some school sports programs for decades, and on Long Island, at least five high schools competed this year. But now a New York assemblywoman thinks those teams should be banned.
"School is not a place where promotion of gun usage should be tolerated," said Manhattan assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal.
Rosenthal, a Democrat, said constituents alerted her about the school rifle teams after the Parkland shooting. That's when she learned the suspected gunman Nikolas Cruz had himself competed on a school rifle team.
"The place where he murdered 17 people, he learned how to do that in a program sponsored by the NRA in his school," she said.
Outside the Nassau County pistol range, gun owner Tony Abrami said that a ban on school rifle teams is completely unnecessary.
"You want to ban baseball teams because they have baseball bats? Anything can be used as a weapon," he said.
Local
Tom King, the head of the New York Rifle and Pistol Association, echoed that sentiment, saying it does no harm to teach students the safety points of operating a rifle and letting them compete.
King added that competitors are using air rifles, not regular weapons.
News 4 reached out to several of the school districts with rifle teams. All refused to comment.
it's unclear if Rosenthal's bill has the support to become law, but the proposal opens another front in the never-ending debate over guns in school.
"It's a sport, it's a tool, it's a team. There's nothing wrong with that," said Abrami.
