Crime & Safety

Mom's Petition Opposes Rifles in Plainfield Schools

Colleen Curry is collecting signatures urging the District 202 Board of Education to reject a plan to install gun safes in four Plainfield schools.

When Colleen Curry first heard about a proposal to install gun safes — not to mention AR-15 rifles — in schools, she thought it was just a rumor.

“I saw some pratter on the Internet,” she said. “It was kind of on my radar.”

Curry soon discovered the proposal was real: Under a request by John Konopek, school resource officers at Plainfield high school campuses sought permission to install gun safes, where they could store their rifles in case of a school shooter incident.

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Curry said she was shocked to see information about the proposal in a newsletter last Friday.

“I was sort of blown away,” she said. “I thought, I don’t think I’m OK with this.”

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So on Monday, Curry launched a petition online at Change.org, asking District 202 Board of Education members to reject the proposal.

The plan includes only campuses located in Plainfield: , ,  and . , which falls under the jurisdiction of the Joliet police, is not part of the proposal.

Konopek said he brought forth the proposal on behalf of the district’s school resource officers based on research showing that long guns, as opposed to handguns, are more effective at long distances and better equip police to neutralize an active shooter.

“We certainly all remember Columbine,” said Curry, mom to a kindergartner in District 202. “There are some mass shootings … when you’re a parent, they shake you to the core.”

But Curry said she isn’t comfortable with having assault rifles on school campuses.

“We hear about this on the news, and it scares us, but I don’t think it’s legitimate to say we need more weapons than we already have in schools,” she said. “ … That’s not going to bring me peace of mind.”

Curry also said she doesn’t feel the threat of a school shooting warrants taking what she considers an alarmist step.

Citing data from the National Center for Education Statistics, Curry said there were 25 homicides in public schools in 2009 — with 49 million students enrolled nationwide.

Citing the media attention by the proposal, Curry said she also believes the proposal sends a bad message about the Plainfield community.

“I feel like it’s getting national media attention because it’s an alarmist step,” she said. “ ... People are not going to buy houses here if there are assault rifles in schools.”

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According to Konopek, police in Naperville, Bartlett and Sycamore already store their rifles in guns safes on school campuses. A spokesman for the Naperville Police Department did not respond to a request for more information from Patch.

Curry said she’s spoken with several board members, along with Konopek. One of the board members urged her to bring her petition to the Sept. 10 board of education.

The petition, titled “REJECT the proposal to place assault rifles in our high schools,” asks residents to add their signature to the following:

Please oppose the placement of assault rifles (AR-15s) in Plainfield, IL High Schools. There are already armed security officers in the schools, and IL police officers are allowed to carry assault rifles in their vehicles. 

The National Center for Education Statistics states that 49 [million] children currently attend public school, and in the last year, only 25 children were injured in school homicides. The brings the risk of such an event occurring to 1 in TWO MILLION. There is no greater safety achieved with this weapon, and it sends a bad message to parents and students alike about safety in our schools. 

This proposal has made national headlines, and I'd like to let the school board that our nation sees this as alarmist, over-cautious, and unwarranted. Please sign today, and help send the message!!

As of Thursday night, there were nearly 300 signatures on the petition.

“Last time I checked we were at about 280,” Curry said. “Last night when I went to bed, there were 36, so it’s been an exciting day.”

Many of the signatures came from Plainfield residents, although residents from throughout the Chicago area left their thoughts on the online petition.

Curry said she hopes to collect as many signatures as possible before the Sept. 10 board meeting.

A board committee is scheduled to take a look at the proposal, and possibly come up with policy language related to the plan, at a Sept. 19 meeting. From there, it could potentially go before the board for a vote.

“I feel really strongly and I feel like I need to make my voice heard sooner rather than later,” said Curry, a New Lenox native who moved to Plainfield a year ago.

“It’s our forever home — we’re never ever leaving,” she said of the village. “We absolutely love it here.”

To view the petition, click here.

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