Teachers in schools around the nation have attended training programs in order to arm themselves and protect their students, though there is no national consensus as to whether this is a good idea or not and laws vary on a state by stae level as to whether teachers can carry a gun in a school building..
Kasey Hansen, a special-needs teacher working with elementary, middle, and high school students in Utah, pointed her loaded handgun at a target at a shooting range. She yelled, "Stop! Drop your weapon! Don't shoot!," according to Philly.com.
"I want to protect my students," she said. "I'm going to stand in front of a bullet for any student that is in my protection, adn so I want another option to defend us."
Hansen carries a pink handgun, "Lucy", with her every day to all 14 schools where she teaches. She is one of an unknown number of armed teachers across the country. In 28 states, the article said, adults who legally own guns will be allowed to carry them in public schools this fall, from kindergarten to high school. An examination stated that those who carry a firearm into their classrooms are not required to tell principals, other teachers, or parents. Only five of the 28 states have ocmpletely open access to concealed-carry permit information through public records requests, said the article.
In Pennsylvania, guns are prohibited in schools except or a lawful supervised school activity, and in New Jersey, teachers can carry a firearm with written authorization by the governing officer of the institution. These statistics have brought mixed emotions from educators and others around the nation.
"I don't deny the fact that a gun could be used to protect students," Steven H. Gunn said, "but a gun in school is far more likely to lead to the harm of an innocent individual than to the protection of innocent people. A teacher could begin returning fire to a person who is attacking the school and in the process kill children. It's just a very unhealthy, unsafe situation and teachers, unless they receive special training, simply wouldn't know how to handle a crisis situation."
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Article by Kassondra Granata, EducationWorld Contributor
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