What’s the story?
- This week, Utah’s Gov. Spencer Cox signed a bill that encourages teachers to carry a gun in their classrooms.
- The legislation will fund tactical training for teachers to learn how to use firearms in a school setting to defend their classrooms against active threats.
- Another state law enacted last year waives concealed-carry permit fees for teachers. Utah’s government intends for these two acts to incentivize teachers to bring guns to their classrooms.
- Utah is one of 16 states that allow employees to carry guns on school grounds.
The bill
- The new legislation does not require teachers to attend the training—those who do not participate are authorized to own guns as long as they have a permit.
- Attending the training allows teachers to be shielded from civil liability if they use their firearm at school while “acting in good faith.”
- Teachers participating in the program can either carry their gun on their person or store it in a biometric gun safe, requiring either a fingerprint or retinal scan to enter.
- The bill will cost the Department of Public Safety around $100,000 annually.
What they’re saying
- Gov. Cox, a Republican, told reporters that he is “very worried about school safety” and the training would allow teachers to “respond very quickly if the worst does happen.”
- Many have voiced concerns about the bill, stating that more guns on school grounds may only lead to more violence. Some educators, including retired teacher and U.S. Army veteran Stan Homles, fear that the half-day training would not be enough to prepare teachers to use their guns in the classroom. Holmes said he had taken a similar tactical training course offered by Utah, which he referred to as “a joke.” He said:
“I left unconvinced that all graduates could handle themselves in a crisis situation. Parents of children in Utah schools have no reason to trust that the so-called educator-protector program training would be any better.”
- Rep. Tim Jimenez (R), the bill’s primary sponsor, said the legislation takes a “strictly defensive” approach, which would benefit teachers who cannot afford tactical training. He continued:
“What we’re looking at here isn’t having teachers running around the hallways trying to act like police officers. What we’re going to be training them to do specifically is how to defend their classroom, gym or whatever room they happen to be in with the students.”
- A volunteer with Utah’s Moms Demand Action chapter, Jaden Christensen, said in a statement:
“Let’s keep our educators centered on what they do best - teaching. We should be working on finding ways to keep guns out of the wrong hands and out of the classroom - not inviting them into our schools.”
The big picture
- While Utah’s public schools have never experienced a mass shooting on campus, three students were shot - two succumbing to fatal injuries - outside of a high school in Jan. 2022.
- As of early March, there have been at least 16 school shootings in the U.S so far in 2024 – 13 of which were on K-12 school grounds. These incidents killed nine people and injured 23.
Do you support the bill?
-Jamie Epstein
(Photo Credit: Flickr/Utah National Guard)
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Utah ranks in the bottom half of states (#37) in public school rankings and is now investing in arming teachers which has been proven to be ineffective In addition 95% of educators, and 63% of parents dusagree with arming teachers. Placing guns in schools with teachers increases the likelihood of gun accidents with 100 documented incidents over the last 5 years.
28 states, including Texas, currently allow teachers or school staff to be armed in the classroom under varying conditions, according to a 2020 RAND Corporation study. 2ststes (LA & OH) har dropped gun training requirements
National Education Association (NEA) & the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) are opposed to arming teachers
School security experts also shared frustration that many of these programs provide limited training as a cost-saving measure for security.
2019 national survey of 2,926 teachers, including more than 450 gun owners, after the Parkland shooting found that more than 95% of educators did not believe teachers should be carrying a gun in the classroom.
Texas “school marshal” program 2013), Texas has licensed school employees to carry a firearm. After an 80 hr course, a psychological exam and a $35 fee, school staff members can be approved to carry a gun. In 9 years, only l256 marshals were licensed in 62 of the state’s 1,029 school districts, according to the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement.
https://giffords.org/report/every-incident-of-mishandled-guns-in-schools/
https://www.everytown.org/solutions/arming-teachers/
https://www.rand.org/research/gun-policy/analysis/laws-allowing-armed-staff-in-K12-schools.html
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/two-states-aim-arm-teachers-opposition-educators-experts-rcna31731
https://csunshinetoday.csun.edu/media-releases/survey-finds-that-teachers-do-not-want-guns-in-the-classroom/
The idea of my child in a daily environment with loaded guns all around them is horrifying. It's the stupidist, most insane idea ever. Who's to say those guns can't easily end up in the wrong hands through brute force or other means? Whos to say that a mentally ill teacher won't be the one with the gun? It will happen sooner or later. I am stunned by the stupidity of Americans.
I am a law enforcement officer with over two decades of experience and I have been a school resource officer for the past ten years. I whole heartedly endorse bills such as this. The number of times that violence will erupt while we are in the immediate area are few and far between. It has happened to me twice in 27 years. My point is that having other armed and trained staff members on campus will absolutely reduce response time and will significantly reduce the number of potential victims. I would never force anyone to carry a gun if they aren't confident, competent and comfortable with it, but I believe every school district should be required to offer their staff the option of obtaining training and carrying a firearm on campus.
Teachers don't want to carry guns. And btw, as if they already aren't underpaid enough, you want to push this job on to them to?
That's extremely disrespectful to teachers.
Shame.
I fully support teachers being allowed to carry on the school campus. It is proven statistically that most shootings occur in gun-free zones. Our children and educators should be protected during their time on campus.
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Teachers have more then they can deal with on any given day! Sure have them have s gun to use when they REALLY get stressed !
It's like pouring gas on a fire!
Some teachers I had were so abusive I wouldn't trust them with a sharp stick.
Armed teachers. The republican way to avoid the real issue.
WTF Seriously Have you ever dealt with an upset middle schooler or high schooler
I'm a mother. I don't my children in a classroom with guns. PERIOD.
I'm also a middle school teacher. I don't want guns in my classroom. PERIOD.
Guns seem to send the wrong message for a conducive learning environment. We shouldn't be encouraged by our law makers to carry weapons. Compassion, especially to those on the margins? Yes. Yes. THAT is what should be encouraged.
For the love of God, lawmakers! Get it together!
Teachers should never be armed because they are not trained to respond to active shooter situations. As we saw at the Super Bowl parade, more guns don't make you safer. There were 800 armed police officers and still many people were shot.
You're just inviting some students to steal your gun, and possibly to use it to kill someone.
Oppose--sets up a lethal situation for staff and children~~~
Utah should be ashamed. More guns in school means more deaths in schools.
Why not carry off your comfortable?
Turning schools into the OK Coral is not where I want to send my kids to learn! When the cops in Uvalde Texas - THE PROFESSIONALLY TRAINED LEGAL GUN CARRYING SECURITY FORCE - refused to confront the gunman BECAUSE HE SHOT BACK AT THEM how do you expect a teacher, who will be given the absolute minimum training to protect themselves and our kids? This is once again a massive cop out (if I may use that expression) by Republican so called leaders to find the cheapest, fastest way to deal with a big problem with less than a band aid! Why not just admit that you have no solution that doesn't involve dealing with the route causes of the problems, mental health, excess guns, limited resources for “real” social problems. How may times does it take to our Right Wing brothers to realize that the money they are getting from the NRA to stay in office is simply more blood on their hands. It’s time that theses people actually grow a pair of balls and start to do what we pay hem for – ACT ON BEHALF OF THE PEOPLE WHO ELECT THEM – NOT A POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE.
These shooters are prepared to die and most of them want to die. They want to kill as many as they can in the process. Arming teachers is not a deterent for these people and will only result in a higher volume of fire and more innocents getting shot and killed, exactly what these nuts want. The gunnman fire high volumes of high energy rounds at anything and everything that moves or through walls but to be effective these teachers must be able to identify the gunman and have a clean shot at the gunman without endangering others. Something many trained officers have had an extreemly hard time with and too many have failed at.
we need more people that are trained in the use of firearms
Actual facts.
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Actual facts for the uninformed
Which States Allow Teachers to Carry Concealed?
An impressive 32 states allow teachers and staff to effectively protect children by carrying a firearm on campus. While it is unfortunate that not all 50 states permit this form of defense against active school shooter situations, public awareness and advocacy could continue to grow that number. The 5th annual National Train a Teacher Day is June 18, and the mission is to protect kids by training, educating and empowering teachers, staff and administrators with the hopes of influencing legislators and school boards into changing their policies.
How Can Teachers Safely Protect Children?
In 1999, two students walked into a high school in Littleton, Colorado, and murdered 12 students and one teacher. Ten people, including both students and teachers, were already killed and/or injured in the 3 minutes it took for the school resource officer to be alerted of the situation. In 2012, a 20-year-old walked into an elementary school in Connecticut and subsequently shot and killed 20 children and six adults. All the victims were killed and/or injured within 5 minutes. Approximately 1 minute after that shooter turned the gun on himself, police arrived on scene. In 2018, one individual walked into a Florida high school, shooting and killing 17 people and injuring others. All the victims were shot in just under 4 minutes.
These unfortunate tragedies had one thing in common: There were no teachers or school staff equipped to defend themselves and their students against an active shooter.
A 2014 study conducted by Eric Dietz, a Purdue professor and homeland security expert, found that “having either an armed guard or armed staff on school grounds can reduce the number of casualties in a mass shooting situation by up to 70 percent by, at the very least, slowing an attacker.” Proper training — including safe storage, active shooter scenarios and target practice — could arm teachers with the proper knowledge needed during emergency situations.
“Time is your ally,” Dietz stated. With an uptick of school shootings, state and local governments have become proactive to curtail these atrocities by arming and training their teachers and staff for such emergencies.
The last thing a teacher needs to worry about with a classroom full of students is a gun. Idiotic people who think teachers have time to keep track of a gun with everything else we expect of them.
We should make it Legal but not mandatory. Each teacher can decide for themselves whether they will carry. Incentives for taking the training and carrying can be offered to those who do decide to carry.
Why not? The liberals have neutered law enforecement. We are on own with a corrupt judiciary
If you really want to stop the killings in schools, there is only one way, and that way is to stop votings for gun loving republuicans. They will never give up their love of guns and killings. They worship their guns. They get off on the killings.
Stop voting republican. They accomplish nothing, except more and larger tax breaks for the millionaires and billionaires. Destruction follow them were ever go.
Enough of these crazy republicans!