State Republican Lawmakers Push $10K Per-Year Incentive for Teachers to Carry Guns in School
Georgia Republicans are proposing a plan that would give teachers an extra $10,000 if they carry their guns to school.
“This legislation and associated state funding will ensure that our school systems and teachers have the necessary resources and training to increase safety across Georgia,” Republican Lt. Gov. Burt Jones said, according to The Center Square.
“Systems and individuals will have the option of participating in the training, certification and stipend, and we hope that the General Assembly will support these efforts to build on recent school safety reforms,” he said.
Jones indicated the legislation was a response to school shootings.
“It’s sad, but it is the sign of the times that we have to go to these lengths to protect our children, but it’s just where we are,” said Jones, according to AL.com.
Republican state Sen. Clint Dixon, who is sponsoring the legislation, said armed teachers would be “more equipped to handle security threats.”
Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith supports the plan as well.
“We’re trusting these folks to teach our young people — our most valuable asset. We’re going to trust them if they get this training, they can be armed and we have a force multiplier in case there is an incident that happens,” he said.
But not everyone is on board.
“I think it’s a bad idea,” parent Willgina Montgomery said, according to WAGA-TV.
“Having individuals carry handguns, I don’t think that’ll make it any much safer than it is. Even if you take all the courses that you need to take and safety and everything it’s still the individual’s decision when something happens how to handle things. And you can’t say a class will teach you that,” Montgomery said.
“You might think something is threatening to you, and it might not be threatening, and you kill a student. Then what? And you kill my child. Then what?” Montgomery said.
Democrats and teachers also criticized the proposal.
“Teachers aren’t trusted to read certain books in class but they can carry guns to protect themselves and their students?” Georgia state House Democrats said in a statement, according to The Center Square. “Republicans continue to show they are extreme and out of touch with reality. They could just do something about guns but that will be too much like right.”
Lisa Morgan, president of the Georgia Association of Educators said the idea was “a simplistic solution to a complex problem.”
“What I hear all the time is teachers are buried under the weight of increased expectations. Teachers feel like, ‘OK, I have to be the nurse today. I’m the counselor because we don’t have enough counselors. I have all these responsibilities that have been added to my plate on top of what I’m here to do, which is teach students,’” she said.
“So, the first reaction is, ‘Oh, so now you’re going to add security guard in my job description.’ It is not a good idea for the health and safety of everyone in our schools to introduce more weapons in our schools, and it is certainly not something that is going to assist with reducing the level of burnout and retaining current educators, and it is not something that is going to assist us in recruiting and attracting new educators to our profession,” she said.
Legislation on the books that AL.com said was passed in 2014 allows teachers to carry guns, but only three of the state’s 108 school districts are participating, according to WXIA-TV.
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