Conflict surrounds arming teachers K-12 in the classroom

By: Blair Richmond

Email: sbr54@txstate.edu

SAN MARCOS, Texas – A new debate has begun regarding whether to allow teachers K-12 to have a concealed firearm in the classroom.

After the Parkland, Florida school shooting on Feb. 14, national controversy over gun laws and school safety has emerged. The conversation introduces adding more protection to schools by giving teachers the option to handle a concealed carry weapon.

In a study conducted by Pew Research Center, more than half of U.S. adults would not be in favor of allowing teachers to handle a fire arm in school.

Otto Glenewinkel
Photo Credit: Dymond Sam

Texas State University Police Officer, Otto Glenewinkel, believe teachers already hold enough responsibility in the workplace.    

"I don't think [teachers] need to be worrying about keeping the school safe ... You hire trained professionals, equip them properly, train them properly, and put them in the school to do the job of protecting the students, the staff and the faculty," said Glenewinkel.

Blake Mitchell
Photo credit: Kathryn Willis

However, Texas State student Blake Mitchell said he believes teachers should be able to effectively defend students if there is an active threat to student safety.

“I feel like schools without security guards means that no one can protect against a school shooter. By the time a cop or anyone else could get there to help, it would be too late. Teachers or administrators could at least scare or defend students before anyone else could make it to the scene, preventing more deaths," said Mitchell.

Nearly 200 school districts in Texas already allow teachers to carry a concealed firearm, according to an article by USA Today, under what is known as the Guardian Plan.

Funding for teachers to handle a concealed weapon although is expensive. According to data by the Department of Education, in Maryland it would cost nearly $71.8 million to train 3.6 million teachers gun safety, with a minimum cost of $100 per teacher.

Nathaniel Mendoza
Photo credit: Shanell Smith

Texas State student and applied math major, Nathaniel Mendoza, said that funding teachers for gun safety training should be a shared effort.

"I don’t think that taxpayers should have to pay the full amount but, it’s your kids, your community, you should help pay," said Medoza.

Jayla Dunbar
Photo credit: Dymond Sam

Texas state student and communication studies major, Jayla Dunbar holds a difference stance on the issue, saying it is should be an individual gun owner cost.

“I feel like if you [want to] carry a gun you should pay for it, because I don’t feel like me as a taxpayer [should] have to pay for it, because it’s not something I believe in," said Dunbar.

Katrina Greggs
Photo credit: Cole Sanchez

Katrina Greggs, a psychology major at Texas State University, said the issue regarding gun violence is more related to mental a health problem in her opinion.

"I don’t have a lot of extensive knowledge, but it seems more like the people in the mass shootings are a cry for help more than anything and I don’t know that more guns are the solution. Not that I have a problem with them, but I think that’s really sad, I’ve seen videos of shelters in classrooms and I think that’s terrible having to practice drills like that and have a shelter assuming something like that is just going to happen one day," said Greggs.

Americans are still unsure whether implementing tougher gun ownership laws would reduce gun related violence at all, according to an article from The Guardian.

Vangelis Metsis
Photo credit: Dymond Sam

Vangelis Metsis, computer science system professor at Texas State, said that many other countries do not have much gun violence, compared to America, because of the strict gun laws that are in place.

"I come from a country, Greece, where there are no incidents of mass shootings really. There could be individual shootings when there are two bad guys shooting each other ... but there are no cases of mass shootings," said Metsis. "Not having access to guns, I think that’s the reason for it.”

Debate continues on finding a suitable solution to help protect schools and students more efficiently. Law makers and public officials have not made any current changes in gun ownership policy.