Georgia lawmakers may have approved a bill that would allow teachers to be armed in school, but many in the education system are rejecting the idea.
The state law that allowed the change will go into effect July 1 and, in addition to schoolcarry, includes provisions for bars and churches. The bill allows each district to determine regulations on teachers carrying guns but did mandate training.
But Georgia teachers and educational leaders aren’t widely accepting of the idea.
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“We could give (teachers) all the training in the world as to how to a shoot a gun, but knowing when to shoot poses a major problem,"
Steve Smith, superintendent of the Bibb County School District, told The Associated Press. "The folks we work with day in and day out don't have that."
Despite living in what is considered a pro-gun state, some teachers spoke out against the idea since its passage at the state level.
“I’m not for carrying guns in schools. There are too many negative things that can happen,” Houston County Superintendent Robin Hines
told the Macon Telegraph back in April. “A school is not the place to put guns in the hands of people who have not been trained in those situations.”
Schools officials told the AP that while they support the idea of people legally carrying guns, they are concerned about the implications of arming teachers.
The Houston County School District said that it preferred to upgrade security and utilize police officers who worked in the county’s middle and high schools.
“The risk far outweighed the benefit," Superintendent Mark Scott told the AP.
Georgia Rep. Alan Powell was a fan of allowing districts the option of arming teachers.
“You can't control what bad people do," Powell told the AP. "You can only guarantee people their constitutional right to protect themselves."
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