Arizona to Arm Principals Against School Shootings

By Hope Gillette, Voxxi

Arizona’s Attorney General Tom Horne feels arming one school employee may be the answer to defending against school shootings and other forms of extreme school violence, indicates a report from CNN. He has proposed a plan that involves this idea.

Horne stated in a press release Wednesday that having an armed police officer in each school would be preferred to prevent school shootings and other tragedies; however, budget restrictions may limit the number of schools able to afford that resource.

In the absence of a police officer, Horne feels the next best solution is to select a school official, such as the principal, who would be “trained to handle firearms, to handle emergency situations, and possessing a firearm in a secure location.”

Horne has compared the proposed plan to that of arming pilots after the attacks on September 11, and according to him, this is the middle ground between the extreme of allowing all teachers to carry guns and doing nothing at all and failing to prevent another tragedy.

“The designated individual (no more than one per school) would then be authorized to keep a firearm locked in a secure place, and would have adequate communication to be alerted to an emergency in any part of the school,” stated Horne’s media release.

Horne’s proposal, which will soon be introduced into the state House for approval, is the most recent in initiatives around the country to increase the safety of U.S. children.

In the Texas town of Harrold, for example, teachers have been recently allowed to bring concealed weapons to school due to the facility’s isolated location; the nearest sheriff office is 30 minutes away.

“We don’t have money for a security guard, but this is a better solution,” Superintendent David Thweatt said to the Associated Press. “A shooter could take out a guard or officer with a visible, holstered weapon, but our teachers have master’s degrees, are older and have had extensive training. And their guns are hidden. We can protect our children.”

While arming teachers is seen as one solution to prevent school shootings, the National Rifle Association (NRA) has voiced its opinion that armed guards or police officers in schools is the recommended solution.

The organization has also stated it plans to create an emergency response training program which would be open to NRA volunteers who wish to specially train to protect children.

NRA spokesperson and CEO Wayne LaPierre compared the situation in the United States to a similar one in Israel, where school shootings were eliminated by the presence of an armed guard.

This article was first published in Voxxi.

Hope Gillette is an award winning author and novelist. She has been active in the veterinary industry for over 10 years, and her experience extends from exotic animal care to equine sports massage. She shares her home with four cats, a dog, a horse, and her tolerant husband.