Ryan Blaine Petty (born January 15, 1970) is an American school safety activist. His 14-year-old daughter Alaina Petty was murdered in the

Stoneman Douglas High School shooting On February 14, 2018, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz opened fire on students and staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in the Miami suburban town of Parkland, Florida, murdering 17 people and injuring 17 others. Cruz, a former student at t ...

on February 14, 2018. Petty is credited with helping to pass the "Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act" Florida Senate Bill 7026 just three weeks after his daughter Alaina was murdered. At the federal level, Petty worked with Senators

Orrin Hatch Orrin Grant Hatch (March 22, 1934 – April 23, 2022) was an American attorney and politician who served as a United States senator from Utah from 1977 to 2019. Hatch's 42-year Senate tenure made him the longest-serving Republican U.S. senator ...

Marco Rubio Marco Antonio Rubio (born May 28, 1971) is an American politician and lawyer serving as the senior United States senator from Florida, a seat he has held since 2011. A member of the Republican Party, he served as Speaker of the Florida Hous ...

and Bill Nelson to pass the

STOP School Violence Act The Student, Teachers, and Officers Preventing School Violence Act of 2018, also known as the STOP School Violence Act, is pending legislation to provide funding grants to schools to be used for implementing security measures. References St ...

and the Fix NICS Act of 2017. He has met frequently with Florida governor

Rick Scott Richard Lynn Scott ( Myers, born December 1, 1952) is an American politician serving as the junior United States senator from Florida since 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he was the 45th governor of Florida from 2011 to 2019. Scott ...

, and many federal lawmakers.

Political activism and career

Ryan Petty ran for Broward County School Board in 2018, narrowly losing in the primary to incumbent Donna Korn. In an unusual turn of events, Petty was endorsed by two sitting U.S. Senators

and

, unusual for a local school board race. Senator Rubio credited Petty for his work to improve school safety and his help in passing the

. Governor-elect of Florida Ron DeSantis, a Republican, included Petty on his Transition Advisory Committee on Public Safety. In January 2020, Petty was appointed by Governor Ron DeSantis to the Florida State Board of Education. Petty was confirmed by the Florida Senate in March 2020.

Activism

In February 2018, Ryan and his son Patrick Petty accompanied Governor

to Tallahassee to speak to the Florida House and Senate about the impact to their family of the

and the need for legislative reform targeted at improving school safety. Petty spoke to both chambers asking them to set aside political differences to make our schools safe. "If this evolves into a gun control debate, we are going to miss our opportunity to get something done," Petty said. " hemessage is simple, this time must be different we have an opportunity to get our schools secure." Petty has been praised for his ability to work across the aisle to tackle the issue of school shootings in the United States, meeting with lawmakers and other officials in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

and

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

In April 2018, Petty and his wife Kelly launched a nonprofit organization, The WalkUp Foundation; which is dedicated to improving the culture in our public schools by funding programs that influence engagement within the student body. The WalkUp Foundation also funds early identification & threat assessment programs, which has been demonstrated to help prevent acts of school violence. In partnership with the

U.S. Secret Service The United States Secret Service (USSS or Secret Service) is a federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Homeland Security charged with conducting criminal investigations and protecting U.S. political leaders, their families, and ...

and The Columbia Lighthouse Project at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

, The WalkUp Foundation is working to ensure that school districts are equipped with best practices and training for proactive threat assessment.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Petty, Ryan Living people People from Parkland, Florida 1970 births American gun rights activists Stoneman Douglas High School shooting activists Candidates in the 2018 United States elections Gun politics in the United States