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Indiana looks to arm teachers in bill headed to governor's desk

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Published  May 1, 2023 9:46pm CDT
Indiana
FOX 32 Chicago

Indiana looks to arm teachers in bill headed to governors desk

Lawmakers in Indiana have sent the governor a bill with funding to train teachers who volunteer to carry a gun.

INDIANAPOLIS - Lawmakers in Indiana have sent the governor a bill with funding to train teachers who volunteer to carry a gun.

Thirty-two states now allow some school employees to arm themselves.

School shootings are now so common the images have lost some of their shock value. In Spirit Lake, Iowa, the school board voted last fall to train ten non-teachers to carry handguns.

An armed staffer who asked his identity be concealed spoke to FOX News.

"Unfortunately, evil exists and if an evil person enters a school trying to harm innocent people, this is really the only solution that immediately addresses that situation," he said.

It has been reported the school district hopes an armed employee will be in every building. Armed staff are to store their weapons in a safe at home or on campus. They're expected to pass an in-person mental health screening, after which the district provides weapons, ammunition, holsters, and safes for the authorized individuals.

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"When people drop their kids off at our school, they expect them to come home safely," said David Smith, Spirit Lake school superintendent.

It's not clear how many U.S. school districts now allow staffers to carry weapons on campus. Since Ohio authorized it last September, 29 out of 611 school districts have opted in.

Indiana's General Assembly sent Gov. Eric Holcomb a bill to fund firearms training for teachers.

In Florida, 46 out of 69 school districts allow staff to carry guns. In Lee County along the Gulf Coast, some parents are skeptical.

"The chances of an unintentional firearm death of a child is exponentially higher than the chances that an armed assailant is actually taken down," said Dr. Maryann Wilbur, a physician and Florida parent.

The bill the Indiana General Assembly sent to Gov. Holcomb's desk would not only provide training for Hoosier teachers who choose to carry guns in school, but it would also pay for counseling at schools rocked by shootings.