If Avon attorney Martha Dean becomes attorney general, she’d like to see firearms training for children in schools, in scout groups and in summer camps.
"As your Attorney General, I will advocate firearms training for boys and girls in schools, in scouts, at camp and elsewhere," Dean a Republican who’s running for the office, said at a Second Amendment rally in April. "We teach sex education in school, yet we omit the most basic skill needed to exercise fundamental constitutional rights."
Dean’s plan, if she is elected, is to explore expanding gun accident prevention programs and rifle club teams in schools.
Fellow Republican candidate Ross Garber on Monday issued a statement in which he assailed Dean's comments and said the office of attorney general should not be used to give guns to children or promote personal views.
"I fully support and believe in the rights protected by the Second Amendment, but I think Martha's positions cross the line," Garber said. "As the state's chief civil legal officer, the attorney general should focus on being a strong advocate for the state and its citizens, not pushing a personal political agenda."
When the Associated Press reached out to Dean on Monday, she stood by her earlier statements, saying she's just a proponent of the laws written in the Constitution and that it was "false" and "intentionally misleading" for Garber to say she advocates giving weapons to children.
"Kids should know how to prevent accidents and they should have access to basic skills that are a part of our constitutional rights," she said.
Politics
George Jepsen, the Democrat endorsed candidate, said he objected to Dean's views.
"Guns and juveniles should be a parental choice, not a governmental mandate," he said.
Dean and Garber will face each other in the state primary elections on Aug. 10.
You can listen to the speech here.
