Nationwide debate about arming teachers K-12

By Payton Samudio
Pas129@txstate.edu

SAN MARCOS, Texas – After students from Parkland High School marched in the Capitol advocating for gun control, the nation is debating arming teachers K-12. 

President Donald Trump has advocated to arm teachers K-12 with handguns to help prevent and reduce mass shootings on school campuses. 

A Pew Research Center survey found that more than half of U.S. adults would oppose allowing teachers to carry guns in K-12.

Julian Salazar

Photo by Shanell Smith

Student, Julian Salazar, said that as a future teacher, he does not feel comfortable being armed.

“I believe as someone who’s going to school to become a teacher, I am not comfortable with the idea with having to be armed with the possibility of having to … shoot one of my own students that I might know on a personal level,” Salazar said.

Kelly Gourlock

Photo by Elliot Beltran

Student, Kelly Gourlock, said that teachers are not trained to have guns and should not have to worry about guns being safely stored.

“I think it’s a horrible idea because teachers are not police officers or military officers, they’re teachers. They’re not trained to do it and they should be worried about the students then whether their gun is safety stored,” Gourlock said.

Rebekah Perez

Photo by Kindell Texada

Student, Rebekah Perez, said that there is no need for teachers to have guns when there are on-duty police officers on campuses.

“I think that teachers should not be able to have guns where kids are regularly, and the fact that most schools have on-duty police officers guarding their school makes guns in a classroom irrelevant. Like, if you’re going to have the police there already, there’s no need for every teacher to have a gun in his drawer,” Perez said.

NBC News took a survey showing majority of Americans don’t want to arm teachers, but 42 percent of Americans said they should.

Lynell Richter

Photo by Shanell Smith

Student, Lynell Richter, said that guns protect our future leaders.

“It’s protecting our greatest assets, our leaders are protected by people with guns, yet they want to take that same protection from the future of America,” Richter said.

Derek Cartey

Photo by Cheyenne Wells

While some students have strong beliefs on teachers having guns on school campuses, Derek Cartey, a student at Texas State University, said he isn’t sure if he is comfortable with teachers having guns.

“It just depends on the teacher, really. It depends on if the teacher is a genuine person with morals and integrity, but if the person is kind of, you know, whacky a little bit, I don’t know if I would be comfortable with that,” Cartey said.

Student, Blake Mitchell, said that teachers should only be armed if they have training.

Blake Mitchell

Photo by Kathryn Willis

“I think that it’s a good idea, but you can’t just arm random teachers with guns. A lot of schools don’t have security guards, or teachers that are trained in gun safety. They shouldn’t be going around chasing school shooters. Some teachers should be armed but only with training,” Mitchell said.

To help the families affected by the Parkland shooting, donate here at the official GoFundMe account.