An overwhelming majority — 77% — of K-12 Texas school employees, most of them teachers, don't want to be armed or expected to intercept a gunman, according to a survey by the Texas American Federation of Teachers.
The survey also found that 90% of Texas school employees have worried about a shooting happening at their school. Under half — 42% — said the mass shooting at the Uvalde, Texas, elementary school may affect their decision to return to school.
"The Uvalde shooting has added another layer — outright fear — to the reasons why teachers are questioning their profession," Texas AFT President Zeph Capo said. "They know that they would put themselves in the line of fire to save their students, and they also know that more guns inside schools are not the answer."
Sarah Lerner, a teacher at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, added: "I have spoken to teachers across the country, and they are horrified at the thought of arming teachers and adding more guns to campus."
Lerner, a survivor of the Parkland shooting, co-founded Teachers Unify to End Gun Violence.
The survey, conducted a week after the Uvalde shootings, polled 5,100 Texas K-12 school employees, higher ed workers, parents, and community leaders.
Jeffrey Rodack ✉
Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.
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