California school officials could mandate searches of backpacks, lockers under shooting threat
LA TimesCalifornia state Sen. Anthony Portantino plans to introduce another gun safety bill this year in response to the Nov. 30 school shooting in Oxford, Mich., that left four dead and seven injured. Two months after four people were killed and seven injured during a Michigan high school shooting, a California lawmaker said he will introduce a bill that would require school administrators to collect information from parents about guns stored at home and would mandate backpack, locker and car searches if there is a credible threat or danger of mass casualty. State Sen. Anthony Portantino, author of several California gun safety laws, said he decided to introduce the legislation after the Nov. 30 shooting at Oxford High School reignited a national conversation over how to prevent such incidents. By empowering school districts with information and the mandate to investigate, we’re taking that inaction off the table.” The legislation, which Portantino said he plans to formally introduce Wednesday, contains three provisions that he believes could help prevent school shootings.