President Trump is all in. So is the NRA, and some school districts.
But critics are blasting back. Not on their syllabus. More chaos. More danger. Amidst talk of assault weapon bans, expanded background checks, and increasing mental health treatment, is arming teachers the idea that should be getting traction?
Several recent polls on the issue continue to show a divided populace.
A new poll of Sonitrol Great Lakes Facebook followers asked the question: “Do you approve of arming teachers in the classroom?” The results: 62% voted “no,” with the remaining 38% voting in favor of guns in the classroom.
On the popular website debate.org, respondents to the question, “should teachers be armed?” demonstrated a tighter disparity, with 55% of persons voting “yes,” and 45% voting “no.”
And in Michigan, nearly three-quarters of teachers say they don’t want to be armed.
In survey results released May 14 by the Michigan Education Association – the state’s largest union for teachers and school support staff – 71% of those who participated said they opposed efforts to arm teachers. And, 63% said they oppose arming teachers even if they’re required to receive firearms training and the guns are locked and can only be accessed by a teacher’s fingerprint.
A former assistant principal who stopped a shooting at a high school in Mississippi while armed told the New York Times the experience left him with nightmares and acute stress for six months afterward.
“It doesn’t matter what a pistolero you are, or think you are,” Joel Myrick said. “You don’t need to be in school in charge of protecting children.”
The National Association of School Resource Officers (NASRO), the nation’s largest school policing group, also said it opposed arming teachers. They noted law enforcement officers responding to an incident may mistake armed personnel not in uniform as the assailant. They also emphasized how law enforcement officers receive ongoing practice in high-stress and difficult shooting environments.
Sonitrol Great Lakes takes no official position on the issue of arming teachers, opining that ultimately, it’s a decision best made by school districts in conjunction with local communities, taking into consideration training, location and distance from law enforcement, and, most importantly, the willingness of teachers themselves to participate. Read more about this topic here.
