SB 383 Allowing teachers to have guns in school Click here to see the full bill.

This bill would allow school personnel to have access to firearms in school safety zones if they receive authorization from the school board of directors, are licensed to carry a concealed firearm and have met certain training requirements in the use and handling of firearms. This legislation will not mandate a school’s participation, but will give school boards the ability to establish policy and put in place protocols needed to enable personnel to exercise their ability to access a firearm on designated school property.

Talking points:

1. Elementary, middle and high school teachers should not be expected to do double-duty as sharpshooters, nor should they have to tolerate an environment where their colleagues or visitors in their schools might be carrying a loaded gun. And on college and university campuses, faculty should not have to wonder whether their students are bringing hidden, loaded guns into their classrooms and offices or vice-versa. (Moms demand action) Teachers are experts in the field of education, not law enforcement.  To suggest that anyone can handle a firearm in an intense, stressful situation is offensive to police officers, who are trained for such situations.  Respect our law enforcement by respecting the skills and training that they have rather than believing that anyone with a gun can do their job.

2. When we let fear shape public policies, we end up with a false sense of security without actually addressing the problem. (It’s a myth that guns on campus will make us safer)

1. First, mass shootings at schools are rare, although they do not seem that way because of media coverage. In 2015 more than 12,000 people were killed by guns, but only 39 of those deaths resulted from mass shootings (where one or two offenders killed four or more victims). That is less than one-half of one percent. Of the 129 mass shootings that occurred in the U.S. between 1966 and 2015, only 12.5 percent happened at schools
2. Offenders in these kinds of shootings are usually motivated by revenge and they often expect to die in the incident, therefore the presence of guns at schools does not work as a deterrent for them
3. Successfully intervening in a sudden and chaotic situation requires tactical training and an ability to shoot accurately in a highly stressful situation. Most civilians are simply not prepared to operate lethal weapons under such conditions.