Despite Vocal Outcry From Parkland Students, Florida Poised To Allow Teachers To Be Armed At Schools
The bill doesn’t require school districts to arm teachers, but does authorize local school boards to decide. “What this bill does is provide the 67 school districts, the 67 different communities in this state, with the ability to do what they need to do to protect our kids,” said Republican state Sen. Manny Diaz Jr., chair of the Senate education committee. Opponents argued the bill could imperil students by adding more firearms on campuses and leading to dangerous mishaps.
The New York Times:
Florida Moves Toward Arming Teachers, Despite Opposition From Parkland Students
A year ago, in the wake of horrific tragedy, Florida lawmakers reached a compromise that had once seemed politically impossible: They passed an array of gun restrictions after a young man killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. Part of that compromise allowed certain school employees, but not classroom teachers, to carry firearms on campus. Then, late last year, a state commission investigating the Parkland shooting came to a conclusion that made even some of its members uncomfortable: Some of the deaths at Stoneman Douglas High might have been prevented if faculty inside the building had been armed. (Mazzei, 4/23)
The Wall Street Journal:
Bill Allowing Teachers To Be Armed Passes Florida Senate
The measure is aimed at implementing recommendations by a state commission created in the wake of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., last year that left 17 people dead. It builds on a law passed last year that included new gun restrictions, including raising the minimum age to buy a firearm, and a guardian program that permitted the arming of certain school personnel, but not teachers. (Campo-Flores, 4/23)
