A school district in north Idaho is considering a plan to arm select teachers and staff with concealed handguns. The school board is asking for public comment at a meeting Tuesday in Sandpoint, Idaho.
In the wake of the Sandy Hook shooting last year, officials at the Lake Pend Oreille School District took a look at their own safety procedures. They discovered that, in a similar situation, some of the rural schools in the district would have to wait as long as 20 minutes for police arrive.
Now, the district is floating the idea of giving teachers the means to shoot back.
Christina Maurer likes the idea. She’s the mother of a kindergartner at Kootenai Elementary School.
"I would feel a lot safer having my child in school knowing that if somebody were to come in and start shooting they could be stopped instead of waiting for the officers to come," Maurer says.
The proposal calls for screening training, and arming one or two volunteer teachers or staff members per school. They would receive semi-automatic pistols equipped with a fingerprint recognition device.
Gun control advocates and some teachers say putting guns in schools increases the risk of accidental shootings and can make children feel less safe.