Teachers unions reject arming educators in schools
A school bus nears a memorial for victims of the Newtown school shootings. (Charles Krupa/Associated Press)
The National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers, the nation’s dominant teachers unions with a total of some 4.5 million members, have issued a joint statement on school safety in the wake of the Newtown, Conn., shootings that left 20 children and six teachers dead at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
The statement says that recent calls for teachers and school administrators to be armed with guns is the wrong approach to school safety. The right approach is a boost in mental health services, bully prevention and reasonable gun control legislation. Here’s the text of the statement:
WASHINGTON — NEA President Dennis Van Roekel and AFT President Randi Weingarten react to proposals by Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert, and William Bennett to arm teachers as a way to prevent school violence.
“Our duty to every child is to provide safe and secure public schools. That is the vow we take as educators. It is both astounding and disturbing that following this tragedy, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert, Bill Bennett, and other