BELLEVUE, WA – The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms is proud to welcome Florida resident and nationally-recognized school safety expert Ryan Petty to its Board of Directors.
Mr. Petty, who lost his daughter, Alaina, in the 2018 school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., has become widely known for his school safety activism. He is the newly-elected chairman of the Florida State Board of Education, co-founder of the WalkUp Foundation, which focuses on programs that involve students, while also improving school safety by way of early identification and threat assessment.
He also served on Gov. Ron DeSantis’ transition advisory committee on public safety, and he has been publicly recognized for his work to improve school safety. He was instrumental in getting the U.S. House of Representatives to pass the STOP School Violence Act in 2018.
“We’re delighted that Ryan has been elected to fill a vacancy on our Board of Directors,” said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb. “His background in business and his activism will definitely be crucial in our efforts to carry out our mission of protecting the Second Amendment and supporting genuine public safety programs.
“Ryan has a keen understanding of the communication industry,” Gottlieb continued, “and he brings all of that, plus his personal experience with tragedy, to his position on the CCRKBA Board. He demonstrated his ability to communicate with a large audience during his report on school safety at our recent Gun Rights Policy Conference. I believe he is uniquely qualified to help guide the Committee in the months and years ahead.”
Petty’s report was the opening presentation at the conference, and it has been described as a “blockbuster.” He advocates for armed security at schools, and rejects the notion that gun control provides a solution to the challenges facing schools in America.