According to a bill passed in the House of Representatives on Wednesday, local school boards will no longer be allowed to deny a teacher’s request to carry a weapon on school grounds.
The bill would also allow teachers in public and private schools in grades 1 through 12 to carry concealed weapons to improve safety in schools.
As the legislator considered Bill 4851Del. Geoff Foster, R-Putnam, successfully amended legislation to require school boards to comply with a teacher’s request to carry a weapon as a designated school safety officer.
Foster, a father himself, became emotional as he asked for support for his amendment.
“What could be more local control than allowing a teacher who cares about his students and wants to protect them to do this?” he asked.
The House of Representatives passed Foster’s amendment by a vote of 79 to 21.
Christina Morgan, a mother of Morgantown students and a candidate for Monongalia County School Board, sees the change as making a troubling bill even more problematic because local school boards would not be able to choose to add armed teachers to other staff, such as security guards.
“The idea that we can’t make our own decisions is ridiculous,” she said.
Morgan, 43, continued: “As a father, I am very concerned about adding another responsibility to teachers on top of what they already have to deal with in overcrowded classrooms.”
The House of Representatives failed to pass an amendment by Ohio Democrat Shawn Fluharty that would have given a one-time $25,000 bonus to teachers and staff who chose to carry a concealed weapon.
The House of Representatives then passed the bill with Group vote89-11, that would allow teachers to carry concealed weapons in schools, after a long and sometimes heated debate in which many Republicans championed the measure. The bill has no funding, but its implementation could cost as much as $275,000.
More than two dozen states allow Anyone other than a school security officer is permitted to carry a firearm on school property, although regulations vary.
Republican Rep. Dave Foggin of Wood, a teacher, said he has waited for this bill his entire career because he felt it would allow him to better protect his students.
“I can’t do anything about a person with a gun in my classroom,” he said. “When they walk through the door, they have complete control.”
All eleven Democrats in the House of Representatives voted against the measure, which will now be submitted to the Senate for consideration.
Although many Democrats publicly stated that school safety must be a top priority, they felt the bill fell tiny in the areas of safety and education.
The law would require teachers, staff and school personnel ages 21 and older to complete a 24-hour police officer training program, pass a background check, and have a valid permit to carry a concealed handgun.
“I’m worried that these people with so little training are not adequately prepared,” said Democrat Kayla Young of Kanawha. “I’m worried that someone has a gun in my young children’s school. That scares me. That scares me very much.”
House Minority Leader Sean Hornbuckle told lawmakers that the bill had not been adequately vetted for safety concerns, including what could happen if a teacher left a gun unattended in the classroom.
A recent Opinion poll found that armed adults “frequently mishandle their weapons in schools.” In one case, a teacher’s loaded weapon fell out of his waistband while doing cartwheels.
Morgan expressed her own safety concerns, saying, “I’m also concerned about the power dynamics between teachers and how other teachers will feel knowing that other teachers have a gun.”
Hornbuckle called for a focus on mental health as he sponsored an invoice This would expand psychiatric care in some schools.
“Everyone on this panel wants to protect our schools, wants to protect our children … and until we as a panel – all 100 Democrats and Republicans alike – address our mental health issues in a forceful way, we need to pause this discussion,” he said.
He called on the state parliament to stop passing controversial bills that target certain groups of people based on their lifestyle, as these would further fuel the hatred that has led to school shootings.
“Unless we as a whole stop this, these things will continue, no matter how many guns there are in schools,” he said.
