Can you say "Hypocrisy"?
Talk show host to have bodyguard for son's first day at kindergarten
By Associated Press, 5/25/2000 03:01
GREENWICH, Conn. (AP) Talk show host Rosie O'Donnell has asked that a bodyguard be allowed to accompany her son to kindergarten in the fall.
O'Donnell told the Greenwich Time that she and her family need protection because of threats made against her, arising from her views favoring gun control.
The bodyguard has applied for a concealed weapon permit, but O'Donnell said he will not be bringing the gun with him to school.
Roger Lulow, the town's school superintendent, on Wednesday 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.
Lulow said the issue became moot when it was learned the guard would not be armed.
O'Donnell, who helped organize the recent Million Mom March on Washington to push for tougher gun laws, said she can reconcile her support of gun control with the guard being armed on occasion.
''I don't personally own a gun,'' she told The Time. ''But if you are qualified, licensed and registered, I have no problem.''
O'Donnell said she recently moved here from Nyack, N.Y., in part because she was told it was a safe community. She said she likes the town, but sometime finds that ''people here have too much money.''
Greenwich is known as a haven for the rich and famous. Other residents include Ron Howard, Mel Gibson, and Kathie Lee and Frank Gifford.
O'Donnell said she hopes to be able to send all three of her children to public school.
''I come from a working-class background,'' she said. ''That's always been the plan.''
In addition to Parker, O'Donnell has a daughter Chelsea, 2, and a son Blake, 5 months.