Teachers Should Be Armed, Trained Says Florida Commission

Teachers should be armed and trained says a new report published by a Florida commission examining the mass killing at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

Under existing law certain staffers, including resource officers, librarians and administrators can carry concealed in schools. By a vote 13 to 1, the commission would like the Legislature to expand that law to cover teachers provided they undergo the required training and pass a background check.

“In the ideal world, we shouldn’t need anyone on campus with a gun, but that’s not the world we live in today,” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, a member of the commission, told the Sun-Sentinel. “One’s not enough. Two’s not enough. We need multiple people in order to protect the children.”

The commission is composed of law enforcement officers, public officials, and parents of slain students.

The sole dissenting vote against arming teachers came from Max Schacter. The father of one of the Parkland victims, Mr. Schacter said there ought to be alternatives to firearms like hallway smoke cannons that would lower visibility for a would-be killer.

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