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Colorado school teachers in at least one small town will now be permitted to carry guns in school in order to protect their students, their co-workers and themselves.
School officials in Briggsdale voted to approve the concealed carry of handguns for teachers, providing the educators participate in ongoing training.
Unfortunately for teachers in Wisconsin, they won’t be afforded the same self-defense protections. A bill to allow retired and off-duty police officers to carry concealed weapons at schools will not be put up for a vote.
Teachers at the Colorado school must agree to going to the firing range and shooting at least 100 rounds per month in order to remain in compliance with the guns-in-the-classroom program. Of course, firing 100 rounds just once per month is both an affordable and enjoyable training task for the majority of gun owners.
Briggsdale Superintendent Rick Mondt told local media that the rural location of the school makes arming teachers important. The school is about 20 minutes away from a police station.
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“Twenty minutes is a long time,” Mondt said.
But even if local police officers could arrive at a school building in under three minutes, and all would surely try, a dozen students and teachers could already be dead or severely injured. Gun rights groups say a concealed carry teacher is the best first-responder, as he or she would immediately be able to differentiate between friend and foe.
Meanwhile, Wisconsin State Representative Joel Kleefisch (Republican), who sponsored the guns-in-schools bill, is going ahead with a committee vote, even though the bill will not be heard by the full assembly. Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said the gun rights legislation would not be heard on the floor, but refused to elaborate as to why.
Representative Kleefisch also stated that he is planning on expanding the proposed law to allow anyone with a concealed carry permit to pack a gun on school grounds. The Second Amendment advocate added, “I’m not sure the citizens of Wisconsin want concealed weapons holders on school grounds. But it’s going to get a vote, up or down.”
Guns in schools have not yet become commonplace by any means, but more and more American school districts are at least discussing concealed carry in the classroom. The movement to arm teachers has been met with stiff opposition by some insurance agencies. As previously reported by Off The Grid News, the EMC Insurance Companies, the primary insurer of Kansas schools, vowed to drop districts which allowed armed teachers.
At the University of Kentucky, members of the Students for Concealed Carry chapter are urging their college to allow concealed carry on campus. The nationwide group began in 2007 after the Virginia Tech shooting. The students advocate for faculty, staff and students to be allowed to carry guns on campus if the users have a valid concealed carry permit.
University of Kentucky chapter president Tyler Waide said his teacher opposes concealed carry and told him, “What if I gave a student a bad grade and they shoot me?”
“What’s stopping him from doing that now?” Waide said he responded. “I can stop that mad man from hurting you and the class. UK is a big campus. It’s 30,000 students and we are going to need a big resounding voice to affect change at the state legislature.”
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, six states this year passed laws allowing at least one public school employee to carry a weapon on campus. Utah allows teachers to carry concealed weapons.
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