@ISIDEWITHQuestionsDomestic PolicyStarted 7yrs agoActive 3 days ago

Should teachers be allowed to carry guns at school?

28 states US states currently allow teachers or school staff to be armed in the classroom under varying conditions. Proponents argue that without guns, teachers or other staff have only limited countermeasures available to them when confronted with a shooter. Opponents, include The National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers, highlight the elevated risk of accidents and negligent use of firearms as more adults in schools are armed.

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Answer Overview

Response rates from 18.3k Congressional District 9 voters.

33%
Yes
67%
No
25%
Yes
49%
No
7%
Yes, schools should require at least one teacher or security guard to be armed
15%
No, hire professionally trained security guards instead
3%
No, this would increase the risk of accidental shootings

Historical Support

Trend of support over time for each answer from 18.3k Congressional District 9 voters.

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Historical Importance

Trend of how important this issue is for 18.3k Congressional District 9 voters.

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Other Popular Answers

Unique answers from Congressional District 9 voters whose views went beyond the provided options.

 @8MN5H3T from North Carolina  answered…5yrs5Y

I think that the security guards should be armed, but no teachers should be armed.

 @8L3QY7Z from Maine  answered…5yrs5Y

Yes, A school cop or office man/lady

 @8K6XQHF from Virginia  answered…5yrs5Y

I was a teacher. During stranger danger drills, I had to have my kindergarten students in a classroom with no windows and only one exit. We were made to sit in a dark room, in the corner, and be silent. I would have a tap light and try to keep these poor babies as calm as possible, the entire time I was thinking about...”what if someone were to be in this school with a gun...how could I protect my students...even if I laid in front of them and he shot me, he would then have an open shot for them”. All of this stress. We were sitting ducks. Would I want to carry a gun? No. How about metal detectors at the only entrance to the school?

 @9D5CBD2 from New York  answered…2yrs2Y

Yes, but they must have background checks, be properly secured, and be trained in order to bring a gun into school. If any accidents happen relating to their gun, then they should be held legally accountable.

 @9FCKPWW from Colorado  answered…2yrs2Y

Yes, IF said teacher chooses to do so and has passed advanced firearm training.

 @9RV8W63 from Florida  answered…11mos11MO

No, this is only going to increase the risk of accidental shootings, hire professionally trained security guards and school resource officers instead.

 @8GV7GL2 from Colorado  answered…5yrs5Y

My father is a Columbine Alum. His science teacher, Mr. Dave Sanders, bled to death after being shot. He died trying to save students. Had he had a gun, he would have been able to protect himself and other students. Yes, I do believe teachers should be able to carry guns, but they need to undergo a strict background check first.

 @9FJ3C37 from Texas  answered…2yrs2Y

i think yes some teacher but they must go through STRICT background checks and must know it is only to be used for an emergency

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 @ISIDEWITH submitted…5mos5MO

Police "Didn't Return Fire" In Sweden Mass Shooting

It was about 12:30 p.m. on a gray Tuesday in Orebro, Sweden, when gunfire erupted at an adult education center, with students and teachers in class. Minutes later, as an alarm wailed, the police charged into the center, Campus Risbergska, where they encountered a chaotic, smoke-filled scene. It would be hours before they gave an all-clear.“An inferno. Dead people. Injured people. Screams and smoke,” Lars Wiren, Orebro’s police chief, said Thursday at a news conference as he described the scene.When officers entered the school on Tuesday, it was filled with smoke from pyrotechnics, Mr. Wiren said. The police came under a hail of gunfire so intense that officers could not tell how many shooters were on the scene, he added. Through the smoke, officers saw a man approaching them and carrying what appeared to be a rifle.The man continued to shoot, emptying several magazines of ammunition. In the chaos, none of the 130 police officers chose to return fire, the police chief said.“You have to respect the situation. There’s panic among the students, the teachers,” Mr. Wiren said. “There’s smoke. The circumstances must be right in order to fire.”After about an hour, officers later found the gunman among the dead. Near his body were three weapons, including the rifle. Scattered nearby were at least 10 empty magazines and unused ammunition, Mr. Wiren said.Police officers fanned out across the four-acre campus, searching for victims and possibly more perpetrators in an operation that lasted over three hours, according to a police timeline of events.In one of the classrooms, Hellen Werme and other students hid for at least two hours under tables and hospital beds used for training. As soon as shots rang out, they locked the door and hid on the far side of the room, she said. At one point, they heard the gunman pass by.“We were very quiet. He was close,” Ms. Werme, 35, recalled a day later. “I could hear his steps, but then the shots were further and further away.”

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