Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis recently signed into law a measure that authorizes local school boards to allow classroom teachers to go through training and carry firearms on school campuses to better protect the students in their charge.
Expansion of the armed teacher program was one of several recommendations made by the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission, which was commissioned after the tragic mass murder at that high school in Parkland, Fla., in February 2018.
While anti-gun advocates fought hard to derail the legislation, it was eventually approved by the state Legislature, then signed into law by DeSantis only hours after it reached his desk.
“We did a lot for public safety,” the Associate Press quoted DeSantis as saying. “The Marjory Stoneman Douglas bill, people had disagreements on, but ultimately ... I think we’re going to be safer.”
The new law expands the state’s “guardian” program to make all teachers eligible, regardless of whether they have a non-classroom assignment or not. Previously, the law allowed school districts to approve school employees and teachers with a role outside the classroom, such as a coach, to carry firearms.
