POLK COUNTY, Fla. — A parent of a victim in last year's mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School wants to honor his daughter's memory and continue to advocate for more guns in schools by completing school guardian training himself in Polk County.
- Ryan Petty wants to see more armed security in Florida's schools
- Petty came to Polk County to train with Sheriff Grady Judd's agency
- Status will be honorary upon graduation, since Petty is not a school district employee
- More Polk County stories
Parents of students killed in the Parkland school shooting have adopted different stances on school safety. Some have pushed for gun control, but others like Ryan Petty have pushed for more guns in schools.
Petty, whose 14-year-old daughter, Alaina, was among the massacre's victims, has been advocating for armed guards and teachers in schools since the tragedy occurred.
“You’ve got to stop the shooter as quickly as possible. One gun is better than no guns," Petty said. "Two guns are better than one gun. Three guns are better than two. We learned that clearly from Parkland."
He served on the state commission charged with finding reforms that can prevent attacks like the one at the high school in Parkland. He’s watched hours and hours of footage of the shooting, and has come to the conclusion that it takes too long for law enforcement to respond to mass shootings. A better solution, in his opinion, is to have armed, trained personnel working inside the schools.
To be effective in his advocacy, he wanted to do the 144 hours of firearms training required to become a school guardian. He chose to train in Polk County, instead of Broward County where he lives, because Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd was one of the architects of the school guardian law.
“It’s been fun, but it’s been difficult," Petty said. "We’ve been standing outside in almost 100 degree heat. I don’t know how many rounds we’ve shot, but I’ve got some wounds to testify I put the time in."
If he successfully completes his training, he will become an honorary school guardian, since he is not an employee of the school district.
He believes his daughter, who was a member of the ROTC, would be proud.
“I really wanted to see her grow up, because I knew she was going to be amazing," Petty said. "But I made a promise that I wouldn’t let what happened to my little daughter Alaina happen to anyone else’s child if there’s anything I could do about it."