Betsy DeVos, a Michigan billionaire who seemingly hates public education, has offered the presence of grizzly bears as a reason to have schools equipped with guns. Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut asked DeVos if she thought guns had a place in the school system during her confirmation hearing for the role of education secretary Tuesday, NBC Newsreported. Murphy, it's worth noting, has been active in pushing for gun law reform since the Sandy Hook massacre in Newtown left 20 children dead in 2012.
"I think that's best left to locales and states to decide," DeVos said Tuesday. Murphy, clearly surprised by DeVos' answer, pressed further. "You can't say definitively today that guns shouldn't be in schools?" he asked. DeVos then decided to reference a Wyoming school's "potential grizzlies" threat as a justification for possibly arming schools:
Murphy, in a tweeted statement shortly after the hearing, said "every American parent" should be bothered by DeVos' refusal to outright oppose the placement of guns in schools across the country:
"Potential grizzlies," predictably, promptly inspired a collective dragging across social media:
The armed grizzlies division of the National Rifle Association did not immediately respond to Complex's request for comment.
