Stanton planning mental health training for educators

PHOENIX — When it comes to preventing mass shootings, more gun laws are only part of the solution, said Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton.

The City of Phoenix wants educators to have better training on spotting a mental illness that might cause someone to start a shooting spree.

“I’ll be announcing in the next six to eight weeks a program where the city will be much more involved in supporting mental health education for educators,” he said. “We get that that exact issue is going on. I want to make sure that we’re doing it right before we announce anything, but we’re definitely heading in that direction.”

Stanton said he’s proud of former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and her husband Mark Kelly, who introduced the Americans For Responsible Solutions iniative, which will raise money to “balance the issue of the gun lobby” when it comes to gun control laws.

But Stanton said that more responsible gun laws are just part of the solution to keeping people safe.

“The reality is that it has to be a multifaceted approach, including new laws dealing with gun violence, including more support for mental health.”

Stanton also supports having more school resource officers at Phoenix schools.