Editor’s note: These four students were among the people who signed up to testify against House Bill 415, which expands concealed carry in Idaho schools. The committee voted to advance the bill without hearing them. The Statesman reached out to offer them a forum for views the committee refused to hear.
Eloísa Harper
The true stakeholders in critical situations will never be heard. My name is Eloísa Harper and I am 15 years old, attending Boise High School as a junior. Recently, in the Idaho legislature, there has been a new bill introduced. House Bill 415 allows any school staff member, including volunteers, to conceal carry a firearm on any school campus in Idaho. At the hearing for this bill on Jan. 24, 2024, the bill was voted on and proceeded to the floor.
The committee allowed public testimony, barely. The perspective of an NRA representative who claimed that statistics were not necessary in supporting this bill was held much higher over the perspectives of the people actually affected by this bill. Students.