Utah gun control advocates are calling on Gov. Spencer Cox to veto legislation which would provide incentives to Beehive State teachers to volunteer for a program under which they could be armed in school as a defensive line against school shootings.
Perhaps not surprisingly, press reports identify anti-gunners as “gun violence prevention advocates” who assert HB119, sponsored by state Rep. Tim Jimenez (R-Tooele), “could place children in harm’s way” because it provides training to volunteer armed teachers. Jimenez, who moved to Utah from Washington state 16 years ago, told Ammoland News earlier this year his intention is to make schools safer.
He told the Salt Lake Tribune the legislation is “strictly a defensive bill.”
But gun control proponents insist otherwise. The Salt Lake Tribune quoted Dee Rowland with the Utah Citizens’ Council, who described the “Educator Protector Program” as “ludicrous.”
Likewise, the newspaper quoted Nancy Halden, spokesperson for the Gun Violence Prevention Center of Utah, who declared, “If a person decides to carry a firearm, they must take responsibility as any citizen to be liable if that firearm harms another person.”
Halden asserted the bill tenet which protects armed teachers from liability is “dangerous.”
Jimenez said volunteer teachers could store their guns in biometric safes, which may only be opened with a fingerprint scan. Participants in the program also will be required to take annual training in firearms safety and “classroom response.”
According to the Ogden Standard-Examiner, if Cox signs the bill, it will include an expenditure of “about $100,000 annually” by the Department of Public Safety. It would begin May 1, and county sheriffs would appoint instructors to train volunteer teachers.
Jimenez noted earlier this year there are “very few gun-free zones in Utah.” Existing law already allows guns on school grounds, he said. If the legislation is signed, Jimenez said it will send a message to would-be mass shooters that Utah schools are not “gun-free zones.”
Fox News is reporting that opponents of the legislation were at the state capitol Monday to make their case. They raised alarms about teachers making “split-second decisions in high-stress situations.”
Proponents of the measure counter that the training will be “classroom specific” and be strictly designed for classroom defense in an emergency.
Utah would not be the first state to allow armed teachers in the classroom. A program initiated several years ago in Ohio—the FASTER Saves Lives project (for Faculty & Administrator Safety Training and Emergency Response)—has provided training for hundreds of volunteer educators across the country. According to FASTER’s website, “The purpose is not to replace police and EMT, but to allow teachers, administrators, and other personnel on-site to stop school violence rapidly and render medical aid immediately.”
However, opposition to such a program typically has its roots in opposition to firearms on school campuses.
According to the Standard-Examiner, Cox has not announced whether he will sign the bill, but he has expressed concerns about school safety and he reportedly does support arming and training teachers and administrators.
