Top school officials in Lewiston and Auburn say they oppose a proposed law that would allow firearms on school property in Maine.

A bill to permit unloaded and locked guns on school grounds is before the Legislature’s education committee.

Superintendents Bill Webster of Lewiston and Katherine Grondin of Auburn spoke against the bill at a January public hearing in Augusta.

They joined four other superintendents, the Maine Superintendents Association and the Maine Principals Association in opposing LD 1761: An Act Regarding the Prohibition on the Possession of a Firearm on School Property.

A state gun control group announced Thursday it is planning a March 1 press conference at the State House Welcome Center, where parents, educators and students and others are invited to discuss their concerns about the bill.

Nick Wilson, executive director of the Maine Gun Safety Coalition, wrote in a news release Thursday that the Wednesday fatal shooting of 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, “was another tragic reminder that no community is immune to senseless gun violence.”

“We must maintain the bright line that prohibits weapons on school property,” Wilson wrote.

The bill was voted down in committee last year but reintroduced this year.

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