KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Governor Jay Nixon says teachers with guns will not make students safer in school, so he vetoed a bill that would have set up statewide parameters for arming teachers.
Anytime you hear gun and school in the same sentence, there seems to be cause for concern. It is definitely a hot topic. Because of recent school shootings some people believe it is best to fight fire with fire.
“I’m very disappointed the Governor has vetoed a common sense, law abiding protection act to allow more people the right to protect and bear arms,” said Missouri State Senator Will Kraus, (R-8).
Those people he is referring to are teachers.
Senator Kraus says under current law, a teacher can already carry a gun with permission from that districts school board.
This bill just says if a school district chose to have a school protection officer they must undergo this additional post training in order to allow that to happen,” said Senator Kraus. “There are more and more school shootings every year and its disappointing and I don’t want that to happen at all, but you know what, if there is a teacher that has the training that is required to protect those kids, I think that’s a good thing.”
Andrea Flinders, with Teacher’s Union Local 691, has several concerns like where the guns would be kept, and what if a student overpowers a teacher? While pointing out that even school security guards in Kansas City do not carry guns.
“Ok, you get your training and you get your gun and now supposedly you are prepared to deal with an emergency situation. I don’t think that’s the case,” said Flinders. “Too many problems that could arise as a result of people having a gun in the school.”
For the parents FOX 4 talked to, even the concept of having armed teachers is uncomfortable.
“I don’t think having a gun in every classroom, even to protect the kids is necessarily a good idea,” said parent Michael Wolters.
“It definitely scares me a little bit to think that there would be guns in the school,” said Kelley Horn, a concerned mom. “It’s definitely scary; I’m on the fence about it at the same time. You would think there are other measures you can take versus having a gun in a classroom.”
And that is exactly what Maureen McGrath has been taught as a teacher for 25 years.
“It’s sad that we’ve come to this in our society but I do believe in protecting kids,” said McGrath.
She says after recent school shootings, teachers were first taught to turn off the lights and quietly hide in their classrooms. Now McGrath says, they are trained to take a more proactive approach. Armed with walkie-talkies for communication, teachers are directed to first barricade the doors.
“If they were to go through the barricade is throw things, start acting crazy. Throw things, tell the kids to throw things,” said McGrath.
And that, McGrath first says should be the teachers only weapon.
“In those situations, your main goal is to protect the kids and get them out or to keep the intruder from getting in and that’s what they should be concentrating on, not getting a gun,” said McGrath.
But when asked if she was ever in that situation, what lengths she would go to protect her students, or what she would want a teacher to do to protect her grandchildren.
“I do think a teacher should be able to protect the kids with a gun. I do know when I heard about Sandy Hook, that I definitely would not have had trouble defending my students,” said McGrath. “I guess I am on the fence, not sure where to go.”
Some districts are allowing guns in their schools. Blue Springs School District has armed officers in its schools. There are 13 officers in the District’s Department of Public Safety, all fully commissioned officers who went through the police academy.
The legislature could override the governor’s veto of the gun bill with a two-thirds majority vote on September 10.
