Mark Kirk: “What we want is to give a message to the country's teachers that when it comes to an issue of the safety and security of…”

“What we want is to give a message to the country's teachers that when it comes to an issue of the safety and security of kids in the classroom, do not hesitate. Do not worry about some impending lawsuit. Make sure that your classroom is secure. We are going to trust your judgement as a certified teacher, as a full-time employee of the school, to make that call and to make sure the classroom is secure. When you look at all of this, we know that the House has long been a forum for issues on rural issues, and those are very important issues. We have also been a forum for issues on urban communities, and those are vital to the future of the country. But there is a reality in the 21st century and it is that Americans, a majority of them, live in suburbs. Suburban families face a number of critical problems. There are drug gangs moving into suburbs that are seeking to take on suburban law enforcement communities that do not have the experience of big-city departments. There are thousands of online predators who are trying to contact our kids using powerful engines like MySpace.com. We are watching as green and open space disappear in the suburbs. And millions of Americans worry that it may be tougher for their children to enter the middle class than it was for us. Suburban families are under attack, and they need a voice in the Congress; and that is why this agenda is coming forward. These are critical issues in my district of Libertyville, Illinois.…”