Republicans in the Florida Legislature are ramming through bills that would arm public school teachers.
HB 7093 and SB 7030 are twin bills that expand the Guardian Program, which allows designated school personnel to carry firearms, to include teachers. Students and teachers alike don’t want this. It’s a dangerous proposal.
Republican legislators argue that arming teachers would keep students safe in the event of a school shooting. There no evidence that proves that. This idea is in line with the NRA myth that a “good guy with a gun can stop a bad guy with a gun.” No data demonstrates this to be a real phenomenon during shootings. In fact, the data does suggest the opposite. According to a study from Stanford University, there has been an increase in violent crimes in states with right-to-carry laws.
In a classroom with an armed teacher, many things can go wrong. Teachers may misidentify the shooter during a school shooting, and kill a student. A student intent on hurting others may gain access to the gun, and harm others.
When I asked Janet Hernandez, a junior at the School for Advanced Studies, about her thoughts on these bills she said, “We need actual resources going into preventing school shootings, not arming teachers. I want Tallahassee to listen to us students, instead of the NRA.”
Teachers don’t want to be armed either. The United Teachers of Dade and the Florida PTA are against this. The job of a teacher is to teach, not to be a law enforcement official. The state should not impose such a heavy burden on teachers. Should this become law, scores of teachers and parents may leave their schools. Rather than remain in schools where their colleagues are armed, teachers will quit. Scores of parents will remove their children, leading to decreased enrollment. This is a recipe for disaster, and can potentially destabilize Florida’s public school system.
By toying with the idea of arming teachers, legislators are gambling with the lives of children and teachers. They actually will put them in harm’s way if they pass it into law.
Join me in opposing these dangerous bills. Call Governor DeSantis (850-717-9337) and urge him to oppose this. Call your state representative and ask them to vote against HB 7093. Let’s stop this recklessness and keep our students and teachers safe.
About Bryan Hernandez
Bryan Hernandez is the President of the Kendall Democrats Club, a grassroots organization with the Miami-Dade Democratic Party. In 2017, Hernandez worked at the Democratic National Committee in Washington. He graduated from American University with a B.A. in Political Science.
