Arming Teachers Isn’t the Answer
Arming Teachers Isn’t the Answer
By Deborah Gorman-Smith and Michele McLaughlin
The tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School has led to a national conversation about guns, with many arguing that access to these weapons is the problem and others claiming that arming teachers—or in the case of the NRA, putting armed policeman in schools—is the solution. Lawmakers in several states are reportedly drafting bills that would allow teachers to carry guns in the classroom. We are very troubled by these proposals, not just as the parents of school-aged children; one of us grew up in Newtown and is an education policy analyst, and the other studies youth violence prevention. And there is no evidence to support having civilians carry guns in
The tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School has led to a national conversation about guns, with many arguing that access to these weapons is the problem and others claiming that arming teachers—or in the case of the NRA, putting armed policeman in schools—is the solution. Lawmakers in several states are reportedly drafting bills that would allow teachers to carry guns in the classroom. We are very troubled by these proposals, not just as the parents of school-aged children; one of us grew up in Newtown and is an education policy analyst, and the other studies youth violence prevention. And there is no evidence to support having civilians carry guns in