After the concealed carry bill was amended to allow teachers to carry a firearm to school and serve as safety officers, the Louisiana Federation of Teachers issued a statement in strong opposition. LFT Legislative Director Cynthia Posey said while they are for measures to address the issue of school safety this is not the way to go about it.
“Our teachers deserve more, not a law that was hastily thrown together in the last days of the legislative session. I think that our educators and especially our students deserve more than that,” said Posey.
Posey said if the bill becomes law, it places a huge burden on those teachers who choose to bring a gun to campus, and it also requires them to complete training on their own time.
“They would be expected to provide their own gun, obtain their concealed carry permit, complete a minimum of 400 hours of training, and then all of the responsibility and liability is on them,” said Posey.
Posey said the legislation also places an emotional liability on instructors. She said it’s not fair to ask teachers in a moment of extreme distress to switch from the role of educator to becoming a professional law enforcement officer. And because often the suspect is a current or former student, she said it’s not fair to ask a teacher to possibly shoot someone they know.
Posey said the issue comes down to funding and they always say we put our money where our priorities are.
“Well, the priority, if you go by that, is not on children, and I think that we need to change that here in Louisiana,” said Posey.
The current legislative session ends on Monday.
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