In the wake of a shooting that saw a 14-year-old kill a six-year-old on elementary school grounds, a South Carolina lawmaker is proposing legislation allowing teachers to carry on campus to prevent similar shootings.
Republican State Rep. Joshua Putnam, who hopes to make his state one of a handful permitting teachers to be armed, told Fox News, “It would incorporate mostly live shooter scenarios. So teachers are familiar with how to approach that gunman on campus, how to interact with getting children away ... and how to confront that until law enforcement arrives.”
Judy O’Neal, a Rock Hill teacher, concurs: “I’m very comfortable with guns and I think there are people who can handle a gun in a school situation.”
While opponents of the measure say school resource officers are enough to handle future shootings, Putnam argues most institutions—especially rural schools—do not have SROs, and arming teachers is a quick, efficient solution that could prevent further tragedy.
