Aug 3, 2022, 3:42 PM
(From The New York Times) A seemingly endless series of school shootings has reinforced arguments that arming school employees gives schools a fighting chance in case of attack, reports the New York Times. At least 29 states allow individuals other than police or security officials to carry guns on school grounds. In Texas, at least 402 school districts — about a third in the state — participate in a program that allows designated people, including school staff members, to be armed. Their philosophy is that saving lives during school shootings is a matter of speed, and that schools cannot afford to wait for the police.
The strategy is fiercely opposed by Democrats, police groups, teachers’ unions and gun control advocates, who say that concealed carry programs in schools will only create more risk. Studies on school employees carrying guns have been limited, and research so far has found little evidence that it is effective. There is also little evidence that school resource officers are broadly effective at preventing school shootings, which are statistically rare.
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