A Bill That Would Allow Teachers To Carry Guns In Schools Has Been Proposed in Alabama

Following the school shooting at a high school in Florida on February 14th, a lawmaker in Alabama named Will Ainsworth has proposed legislation that will allow both teachers and school administrators to carry concealed weapons while on school property and during school hours. The proposed bill will also allow for necessary training.

The aforementioned training, which will be part of the proposed legislation, is called POST, which stands for Peace Officers Standards and Training. Ainsworth says that it is a process used when training law enforcement. Teachers, coaches, and administrators will be able to go through the training process, and afterwards they will be able to carry firearms during school hours.

In a press release, Ainsworth—a state representative—said that he believes children who attend gun-free schools are “sitting ducks”. He saw videos of the shooting online, and he called the kids in the Florida school “literally defenseless”.

He pointed out that he is the father of three children in public schools, and therefore believes action needs to be taken to prevent future tragedies.

He said that, with about two-thirds of the “regular session” still to go, there is plenty of time to research as well as introduce and pass the legislation he proposed—he described it as “much needed” and also “potentially life-saving”.

Because teachers, coaches, and administrators could potentially be armed, Ainsworth believes that potential shooters might “think twice” about choosing to go into a school.
He plans to work with other legislators in the state to draft the legislation he believes is so desperately needed.

Ainsworth said that he felt the need to make the proposal after he was reached out to by schools officials who were concerned after the school shooting.

Seventeen were killed during the February 14th shootings, and many more were injured.

School officials in Alabama were wondering how to prevent such a tragedy in their state, so they reached out to Ainsworth. He compared his proposal to how there are armed undercover air marshals on commercial flights in order to protect the flights’ passengers.

Ainsworth, of Guntersville, said that more gun control will not stop anyone who intends to do harm in schools; he believes, however, that a properly trained person armed with the right equipment will be able to do so.

The first-term legislator added that he hopes the passage of the proposed legislation will be fast-tracked once it is introduced.

Ainsworth’s suggestion is an interesting one, but a lot of people oppose the idea and believe increased gun control is the way to prevent future tragedies—like the one that happened in Florida.
One person who is supporting increased gun control is Jimmy Kimmel, the American television host and comedian. He addressed United States President Donald Trump via his program, saying that the President had done nothing at all—in fact, according to Kimmel, he has done “worse than nothing”.

Kimmel said that President Trump likes to claim that shootings are a mental health issue; however, Kimmel claims that one of the first acts of the President was to roll back regulations designed to keep firearms out of hands of mentally ill people.

A television sports reporter named Dale Hansen also went viral due to his opinions on gun laws. He wondered how much money would be spent stopping the shootings if the shooter was a Mexican or a Muslim.

Because the shooter was a white kid—Hansen said—there isn’t anything that “we” can do. He said that America has just five percent of the world’s population; however, over 30 percent of the world’s mass shootings happen in the country. He added that Americans should not be worried about having people from other countries move to the United States—other countries should instead be worried about Americans moving to theirs.

A student at the high school where the shooting occurred is trying to change gun laws in the United States. The student—Emma Gonzalez—gave a speech at a gun control held in the city of Fort Lauderdale. She said that if all the President of the United States can do is send his “thoughts and prayers”, then it is time for victims to be the change that is needed.

She added that—since the time the second amendment was added to the United States Constitution— guns have changed at a rate that leaves her “dizzy”.

The guns have changed, Emma says, but the laws have not.