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In the wake of another tragic school shooting, Ohio Republican Gov. Mike DeWine is set to sign legislation allowing teachers to be armed via a program that will fast-track their firearms training.
The legislation was passed in the wake of the massacre of 19 children and two adults in Uvalde, Texas, in late May by an 18-year-old shooter who managed to elude the school district’s security measures, making it among the worse school shootings in the country’s history.
“I think it gets down to this: Do we want our kids to have a fighting chance in the event that the worst happens, right,” said one of the bill’s supporters, legislative affairs director for the Buckeye Firearms Association Rob Sexton, according to a report by KAMR. “And for us, we’d just like a school to be able to have that option. Allows local school districts to make their own decisions.”
The legislation would authorize teachers to carry firearms after minimal training.
According to Fox News, “The bill will allow any adult that is licensed to carry a concealed firearm in both public and private schools with a reduced training requirement, doing away with the 737 hours of peace officer training that is currently required in favor of mandating only 24 hours of training. Individual schools and districts have the option to set their own policies, including requiring additional hours of training.”
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine plans to sign a bill reducing training requirements for teachers and other staff to carry guns in schools https://t.co/w80EyS28zF
— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) June 2, 2022
BREAKING: Ohio Governor Mike DeWine will sign House Bill 99. It grants school teachers and staff the right to carry a firearm on school grounds if their district permits it.
This bill also reduces training needed to carry on school grounds from 728 hours down to only 24 hours.
— Buckeye Patriot (@Buckeye_1776) June 1, 2022
According to Hannity.com:
The bill coasted through the State Senate, 23-9, and was met with little resistance in the State House, 56-34. The bill mandates at least 18 hours of general training, two hours of handgun training, two hours of “additional” general training, and two hours of “additional” handgun training, Fox News reports.
Not everyone is on board with the new safety measure, obviously, including Ohio Education Association President Scott DiMauro; he says the bill will push too much responsibility onto teachers.
“Asking teachers who are already overburdened to add more to their plate by serving in a dual role where they’re both responsible for educating children and now in some cases where this might be implemented for armed security in schools, we think is not really addressing the issue,” DiMauro said.
DeWine discussed the bill during a manufacturing event in northeast Ohio on Thursday. When asked about House Bill 99, he said the legislation would provide extra protection for students.
“That’s our commitment to our schools, to our parents [and] to our students,” DeWine said, according to 10WBNS.
He added in a statement: “Last week I called on the General Assembly to pass a bill that would allow local school districts, if they so chose, to designate armed staff for school security and safety. My office worked with the General Assembly to remove hundreds of hours of curriculum irrelevant to school safety and to ensure training requirements were specific to a school environment and contained significant scenario-based training. House Bill 99 accomplishes these goals, and I thank the General Assembly for passing this bill to protect Ohio children and teachers. I look forward to signing this important legislation.”
The measure would essentially dismantle an Ohio Supreme Court decision from last year in which a majority of justices ruled that in order to be armed, teachers would have to undergo hundreds of hours of training.
10WBNS adds:
Training must include how to stop an active shooter, how to de-escalate a violent situation, trauma, and first-aid care, at least four hours in “scenario-based or simulated training exercises,” and completing “tactical live firearms training,” according to the bill.
DeWine said it is up to the school district whether to arm educators and staff members. If they opt-in to be armed, teachers would receive training every year.
“We will also be giving the schools the choice of providing additional training. That we would stake out, provide for in case that they want more than 24 hours for a teacher,” the governor said.
The outlet said that major law enforcement organizations oppose the measure as do gun control advocates. However, the outlet reported that a handful of school districts and police departments do support the measure. More than two dozen states do allow teachers to be armed in some circumstances.
