US 2nd Amendment Under Assault, Freedom Firearms Guns Defense

[grarpamp]

Banning firearms from schools, gun free zones, were stupid.
You Democrats are lying, you would never put "gun free house"
on your front lawn, nor ban guns from your corrupt Government.


A Call To Arms: Teachers In Conservative States Are Volunteering To Carry Guns

https://www.theepochtimes.com/a-call-to-arms-teachers-in-conservative-states-are-volunteering-to-carry-guns_4519281.html

Crosses and flowers laid out in the public square of the
grief-stricken town Uvalde, where a teen gunman killed 19 students and
two teachers, are an all-too-familiar scene igniting a call to arms
for teachers in Texas and beyond.
An emergency worker directs a volunteer with simulated injuries during
a training exercise for an active shooter at Hopewell Elementary
School, in West Chester, Ohio, on May 25, 2016. (AP Photo/John
Minchillo)

The Republican-led Texas legislature is addressing the twin issues of
school safety and mass violence following the May 24 Uvalde, Texas,
school shooting. Committees of lawmakers are reviewing past
legislative efforts, such as the Guardian and Marshal programs that
allow teachers to carry firearms in the hopes of hardening schools as
targets. School officials and firearm trainers in the Lone Star State
say interest has risen sharply since the recent shooting.

Jeff Sellers owns Schools on Target, a company in Marble Falls, Texas,
that trains teachers to carry firearms in schools. Since the school
shooting, Sellers told The Epoch Times that he has added nine
additional classes—double the amount customarily held—for June through
August.

“I’ve gotten an insane amount of calls,” Sellers said. “It hasn’t
stopped. Ninety percent is because of Uvalde.”

Bryan Proctor, owner of Go Strapped Firearms Training in Arlington,
Texas, told The Epoch Times much the same thing—that training requests
for the Guardian program have skyrocketed.

“We’ve had about a 100 percent increase,” Proctor said. “It’s been
pretty dramatic. I’ve sent out over 20 proposals in the past week.”

Proctor said teachers want to protect their students and themselves,
despite what people may be hearing form the select voices in legacy
media.

“What you’re seeing is a vocal minority,” Proctor said. Arming
teachers isn’t about giving them something else to be responsible
for—but instead giving them a tool as a last defense.

Elsewhere, state legislatures are investigating how to make schools
safer and arm teachers.

Louisiana is currently looking at legislation similar to Texas,
allowing teachers to carry guns in schools after receiving specialized
training. Ohio’s latest bill aims to be less restrictive than the
current law, mandating 700 hours of police training and board approval
before allowing teachers to be armed.

Republican governors Bill Lee of Tennessee and Ron DeSantis of Florida
took action on school security this week. Lee signed an executive
order June 6 to ensure working safety protocols at schools, and to
evaluate training for active shooter scenarios. DeSantis signed a
school safety bill into law on June 7 that focused on crisis
intervention and training, and mental health awareness.

Meanwhile, teacher unions have nixed the idea and portrayed arming
teachers as unpopular with educators. A 2018 Gallup poll found that 73
percent of teachers oppose the idea.
Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America during a anti gun rally on
Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 10, 2015. (Mark
Wilson/Getty Images)

Meanwhile, policies to arm teachers in some form has widespread
participation throughout the country amid the horror of gunmen
targeting schools for mass shootings. The RAND Corporation reported in
2020 that 28 states permit armed teachers under some circumstances,
while states such as Texas and Florida have passed laws encouraging
the practice.

In North Florida, one principal at a private Christian school said he
would like to see the program expanded to include private schools. The
principal, who didn’t wish to be identified, said he added chain-link
fencing around his school’s 40-acre perimeter and allowed just one-way
traffic onto the campus, except during drop-off and pick-up times.

Now, cameras monitor doors into buildings, and access is controlled
remotely or with special key fobs. Classrooms stay locked throughout
the day. But it’s not enough anymore, he said.

He asked for training under Florida’s school guardian program to
protect his school’s 340 students, ranging from toddlers to high
school seniors. He was denied because the program doesn’t extend to
private schools.

Currently, it is open to employees of public schools or charter
schools who volunteer to serve as guardians and their official job
duties. To qualify, they must pass psychological and drug screenings,
and complete a 144-hour training course.
Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) arrives at a memorial service
on the one-year anniversary of the shooting which claimed 17 lives at
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., U.S., on Feb.
14, 2019. (Joe Skipper/File Photo/Reuters)

Sheriff’s offices in 45 of Florida’s 67 counties participate and
receive funding to cover screening and training costs. And guardians
receive a one-time bonus of $500 for serving in the program. Schools
in districts can arrange to send employees for certification.

So the principal is now training on his own to become a licensed,
armed security guard.

“It’s the only option,” he said. “Even before this last school
shooting, I said, ‘I’ve got to go get this taken care of.’ So we’re
doing it the right way.”

About a decade ago, Texas lawmakers created the school Marshal
program, as a way for educators to carry weapons inside schools, and
later initiated the Guardian program.

Under the Marshal program, school employees can carry a handgun on
school premises after 80 hours of training. However, school marshals
are restricted from carrying concealed firearms if they are regularly
in contact with students. Instead, the marshal can store a gun in a
safe at the school. There are 62 school districts participating in
this plan, according to the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement.

Gretchen Grigsby, director of government relations with the Texas
Commission on Law Enforcement, told The Epoch Times that 30 new
students and nine new school districts have signed up for the Marshal
program since the Uvalde shooting.

The Guardian program authorizes school boards to arm employees under
the federal Gun-Free School Zones Act and the Texas Penal Code. After
completing 16 hours of training, those employees may carry a concealed
firearm in the presence of students. According to the Texas
Association of School Boards, 389 districts reported using the
Guardian plan as of May.

While Democrats are calling for gun control, people like Sellers
reiterate that the only thing that can stop a bad guy with a gun is a
good guy with a gun. Sellers told The Epoch Times that the first few
minutes of an active shooter situation are critical, and arming
teachers could save lives.

“In active shooting incidents, time is everything,” Sellers said. “No
gun control law is going to stop evil from conducting evil acts.”
File photo showing people singing the national anthem during a rally
promoting Second Amendment rights, in Washington, D.C., on July 7,
2018. (Toya Sarno Jordan/Getty Images)

Madalyn Maresh is an assistant superintendent at the Edna Independent
School District, a rural 3A district northeast of Victoria, Texas. She
told The Epoch Times that her district reopened the application
process for the Guardian program at her school in response to the
Uvalde shooting.

“The day I reopened it, I got two applications immediately,” she said.
In the three years since the program has been operational, she gets
between 3 to 10 volunteers per year. Without guns for protection,
teachers are forced to use their own bodies to shield students from an
active shooter, she said.

“You’ve got to find what fits your community. We got zero push back on
it—our community embraces it,” Maresh said.

Kyle Collier, police chief for City View ISD in Wichita Falls, Texas,
said an additional four or five teachers volunteered after the Uvalde
shooting.