Georgia lawmaker proposes paying teachers $10K to carry guns in school
ATLANTA - A proposal at the statehouse would pay teachers to carry guns at school. Supporters say it’ll make classrooms safer. However, critics worry it could make tense situations even more dangerous.
State Sen. Clint Dixon, R-Buford, introduced a bill that would offer teachers a stipend of $10,000 a year if they voluntarily take firearms courses and carry guns in school. Lt. Gov. Burt Jones says the legislation would make schools safer.
Willgina Montgomery opposes the bill. "I think it’s a bad idea," Montgomery said. "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, whose son is in the eleventh grade at Midtown High School, worries the proposal would put his life at risk.
"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 asked.
Georgia Lt. Gov. Burt Jones is proposing legislation which would pay teachers to be trained and armed in classrooms. (FOX 5)
Under the bill, schools systems would have to approve a gun-training program before they could let teachers carry a firearm. The lieutenant governor says he’d also push for more funding for public safety officers.
Jordan Tarver, a teacher and baseball coach, supports the bill as long educators with cooler heads get properly trained and armed.
"We need it," Tarver said. "It definitely would improve school safety. If it’s in the hands of the right people. I think it can all help school safety."
Georgia Lt. Gov. Burt Jones is proposing legislation which would pay teachers to be trained and armed in classrooms. (FOX 5)
U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath, D-Georgia’s 7th District, blasted the bill. She said in a statement:
"Georgia teachers should be armed with books and supplies, not guns. For too long, they have been forced to purchase school supplies with their own money. Instead of listening, Burt Jones is furthering his extremist agenda at the expense of our kids."