Arizona state Attorney General Tom Horne (R) on Tuesday proposed legislation that would allow teachers to carry guns in public schools.
Horne, with state Rep. David Stevens (R-Sierra Vista), announced the introduction of legislation that would allow for school districts to nominate teachers who would carry guns during the school day, azcentral.com reported. School district-designated teachers would get three days of state firearms training by the state. The program would be optional for school districts and teachers.
Azcentral.com reports:
Horne said the ideal solution would be to have a school resource officer, who are trained law enforcement officers, in each school. But he said it is not financially possible for the state to do that.
House Bill 2656, he said, is a compromise.
“This bill is what I call the golden mean between two extremes,” Horne said.
One extreme would be to do nothing, he said. The other would be to let all teachers carry firearms without regulation.
Horne is the third Republican elected official this week to take a public stand on gun issues. In Missouri on Monday, state Rep. Mike Leara (R-St. Louis) introduced legislation to make it a felony for lawmakers in his state to propose bills limiting gun rights. Missouri state Rep. Eric Burlison (R-Springfield) posted a video of people using copies of a proposed state assault weapons ban for target practice.
Since the Newtown school shooting in Connecticut, state and local officials have proposed arming teachers and other school employees -- an idea being pushed by the National Rifle Association. Tennessee state Sen. Frank Niceley (R-Strawberry Plains) would require schools to have at least one armed teacher at all times. In Oklahoma, state Rep. Mark McCullough (R-Sapula) has introduced legislation that would allow teachers to be cross-trained as reserve police officers so they can carry a gun and protect students.
A local schools superintendent said he opposes McCullough's legislation. Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin (R) told The Huffington Post last month that she had not taken a position on McCullough's proposal.
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