http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/Advocate/release/05-25-2000/article1.html
Rosie’s bodyguard applies for gun permit
By J.A. Johnson Jr.
Staff Writer
An application for a concealed weapon permit by Rosie O'Donnell's bodyguard has some Greenwich neighbors of the television personality and gun-control advocate up in arms.
The application, which is pending with the Greenwich Police Department, led to a rumor that the permit's purpose would be to allow the bodyguard to legally carry a gun when accompanying O'Donnell's son to public school in September.
Greenwich Superintendent of Schools Roger Lulow and O'Donnell said the rumor is unfounded.
O'Donnell said in a telephone interview yesterday that the bodyguard was seeking a gun permit at the request of the security firm he works for - not at her personal behest. She identified the firm as Kroll, and said the bodyguard is arranged for by Warner Bros. on her behalf.
She said the guard does not normally have a gun, but is trained in self-defense techniques. And there was never any intention of his carrying a gun at school, she said.
But the talk-show host said she and her family do need protection because of threats made against her, arising from her pro-gun control stands.
O'Donnell expressed concern that publicity about her son's attendance at a local school - coupled with the information that the guard would be unarmed - could make him vulnerable to harm. The Advocate is not naming the school or O'Donnell's neighborhood because of the potential security issues.
Lulow yesterday confirmed that the school's principal recently asked him whether an armed guard for 4-year-old Parker O'Donnell would be welcome at the school when he enters kindergarten in September.
"There was a request for information made to me that asked whether we allow security guards who carry weapons on school grounds," Lulow said.
Lulow said he initially did not know the answer to that question, but after researching state statutes, he found he was empowered to grant the request under special circumstances.
"But before going any further, the principal asked if we should check to see if the bodyguard is going to be armed, and we found out he won't be armed - so it's academic," Lulow said.
Nevertheless, the rumor quickly spread, causing parents to call the Board of Education seeking answers.
"They had some anxiety about allowing that to happen," Lulow said.
To quell those fears, the principal mailed letters yesterday to parents of students at the school.
According to Lulow, the letters said "in essence said there is a rumor going around that there will be an armed guard for a student in the next school year, but that we were not permitting that to happen (at that school) or any other school."
Police Chief Peter Robbins confirmed that O'Donnell's bodyguard, who he would not identify, had applied to his department for a permit that would allow him to carry a concealed weapon.
"The facts are (O'Donnell's) bodyguard has made an application for a carry permit," Robbins said. "It's under review and I haven't yet granted a permit for this applicant."
O'Donnell's spokeswoman, Jennifer Glaisek, said that O'Donnell's children need a bodyguard because they have been the targets of threats, on which she refused to elaborate.
O'Donnell is a single mother who adopted two children, Parker, 4, and Chelsea, 3.
Among the more vocal critics of O'Donnell are members of the National Rifle Association, as she has used her morning television talk show as a platform to advocate stricter gun control laws.
When actor Tom Selleck appeared on "The Rosie O'Donnell Show" last year, he became involved in a heated debate with his host when he said that tougher gun control laws would not have prevented the shootings at Columbine High School in Colorado.
Selleck once participated in a promotional campaign for the NRA.
O'Donnell said she can reconcile her support of gun control with the guard being armed on occasion.
"I don't personally own a gun," she said, "but if you are qualified, licensed and registered, I have no problem."
Reflecting on life in Greenwich, O'Donnell said she had moved here from Nyack, N.Y., in part because she was told it was a safe community.
O'Donnell likes the town, but sometime finds that "people here have too much money." She said she always hoped to be able to send her children to public school. "I come from a working-class background. That's always been the plan."
Rosie’s bodyguard applies for gun permit
By J.A. Johnson Jr.
Staff Writer
An application for a concealed weapon permit by Rosie O'Donnell's bodyguard has some Greenwich neighbors of the television personality and gun-control advocate up in arms.
The application, which is pending with the Greenwich Police Department, led to a rumor that the permit's purpose would be to allow the bodyguard to legally carry a gun when accompanying O'Donnell's son to public school in September.
Greenwich Superintendent of Schools Roger Lulow and O'Donnell said the rumor is unfounded.
O'Donnell said in a telephone interview yesterday that the bodyguard was seeking a gun permit at the request of the security firm he works for - not at her personal behest. She identified the firm as Kroll, and said the bodyguard is arranged for by Warner Bros. on her behalf.
She said the guard does not normally have a gun, but is trained in self-defense techniques. And there was never any intention of his carrying a gun at school, she said.
But the talk-show host said she and her family do need protection because of threats made against her, arising from her pro-gun control stands.
O'Donnell expressed concern that publicity about her son's attendance at a local school - coupled with the information that the guard would be unarmed - could make him vulnerable to harm. The Advocate is not naming the school or O'Donnell's neighborhood because of the potential security issues.
Lulow yesterday confirmed that the school's principal recently asked him whether an armed guard for 4-year-old Parker O'Donnell would be welcome at the school when he enters kindergarten in September.
"There was a request for information made to me that asked whether we allow security guards who carry weapons on school grounds," Lulow said.
Lulow said he initially did not know the answer to that question, but after researching state statutes, he found he was empowered to grant the request under special circumstances.
"But before going any further, the principal asked if we should check to see if the bodyguard is going to be armed, and we found out he won't be armed - so it's academic," Lulow said.
Nevertheless, the rumor quickly spread, causing parents to call the Board of Education seeking answers.
"They had some anxiety about allowing that to happen," Lulow said.
To quell those fears, the principal mailed letters yesterday to parents of students at the school.
According to Lulow, the letters said "in essence said there is a rumor going around that there will be an armed guard for a student in the next school year, but that we were not permitting that to happen (at that school) or any other school."
Police Chief Peter Robbins confirmed that O'Donnell's bodyguard, who he would not identify, had applied to his department for a permit that would allow him to carry a concealed weapon.
"The facts are (O'Donnell's) bodyguard has made an application for a carry permit," Robbins said. "It's under review and I haven't yet granted a permit for this applicant."
O'Donnell's spokeswoman, Jennifer Glaisek, said that O'Donnell's children need a bodyguard because they have been the targets of threats, on which she refused to elaborate.
O'Donnell is a single mother who adopted two children, Parker, 4, and Chelsea, 3.
Among the more vocal critics of O'Donnell are members of the National Rifle Association, as she has used her morning television talk show as a platform to advocate stricter gun control laws.
When actor Tom Selleck appeared on "The Rosie O'Donnell Show" last year, he became involved in a heated debate with his host when he said that tougher gun control laws would not have prevented the shootings at Columbine High School in Colorado.
Selleck once participated in a promotional campaign for the NRA.
O'Donnell said she can reconcile her support of gun control with the guard being armed on occasion.
"I don't personally own a gun," she said, "but if you are qualified, licensed and registered, I have no problem."
Reflecting on life in Greenwich, O'Donnell said she had moved here from Nyack, N.Y., in part because she was told it was a safe community.
O'Donnell likes the town, but sometime finds that "people here have too much money." She said she always hoped to be able to send her children to public school. "I come from a working-class background. That's always been the plan."
