(Indianapolis, Ind.) - Mike Pence is backing a review of school safety in Indiana following the events that unfolded last week in Newtown, Connecticut.

The Republican governor-elect announced Wednesday he will seek a comprehensive study of school safety by putting funding for the study into state budget proposal he submits to state lawmakers next month, The Indianapolis Star reports.

“We have a responsibility especially to our kids,” Pence said. “I look forward to working with colleagues in both political parties and the Indiana Department of Education to determine ways we can do an even better job making sure that nothing like this ever happens again or ever happens in the Hoosier state.”

Pence said Indiana is already the only state in the nation that requires school districts to have a trained and certified school safety specialist on-site during school days. He added that there are already state laws to restrict access to guns by criminals and mentally-ill people.

The study should focus on restricting access to schools, not the state’s guns laws, he said.

“I support the right of law-abiding citizens to keep and bear arms and as governor I’ll defend that right,” said Pence.