Debate continues over whether to arm teachers - Entrepreneur Generations

In the wake of recent school shootings, the idea of allowing teachers to carry firearms has gained steam, but ideological and logistical hurdles remain. In Butler County, Ohio, Sheriff Richard Jones says he will offer a free concealed carry class to teachers, as well as training on school shootings, Sarah Hager reports for Cincinnati.com. And President Trump advocated for the notion yesterday, in remarks that James Hohmann of The Washington Post writes "closely mimicked a speech" delivered earlier that day by National Rifle Association president Wayne LaPierre.

But many gun violence experts, educators and school safety advocates have panned the idea. David Hemenway, a professor of health policy at Harvard School of Public Health and an expert on the public health impact of gun violence, said "It's a crazy proposal" and that a even a teacher with firearms training would likely accidentally injure an innocent student, Elizabeth Chuck and Corky Siemaszko report for NBC News. Teachers may also injure themselves with an improperly secured firearm. That happened recently when a Utah elementary school teacher, who had a legal permit to carry a firearm in school, accidentally shot herself in the leg while she was in a faculty bathroom. No students were injured.

Another factor not often considered: arming teachers could cause schools' liability insurers to either raise rates sky-high or cancel policies entirely. When Kansas made it legal for teachers to carry firearms in 2013, the liability insurance provider for 90 percent of the state's school districts decreed that any school permitting employees to carry concealed handguns would be denied coverage, Steven Yaccino reports for The New York Times.

from The Rural Blog http://ift.tt/2CGeWKZ Debate continues over whether to arm teachers - Entrepreneur Generations

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