By Jacob Rueda
A Utah law that amends existing legislation allowing teachers to carry firearms in the classroom took effect in May.
The controversial HB 119, which was signed by Governor Spencer Cox, modifies the current law by implementing annual firearm training for teachers, establishing guidelines for gun storage at schools, and waiving liability for teachers and schools in the event of an active shooter incident.
Support for the new law was backed by gun rights advocacy groups. Clark Aposhian of the Utah Shooting Sports Council expressed his support for the amendments, telling local station KSTU back in March that the new amendment “incentivizes additional very specific classroom-type training for the defense of a classroom.”
Additional support for the new amendments also came from some educators. Brian Peterson, a sixth grade teacher from Lake Ridge Elementary in Magna, told the Associated Press that the bill gave teachers the ability to protect students and themselves.
“We have a lot of teachers who do carry, and the training is invaluable,” he said. “Knowing how to defend your classroom, whether it’s with a weapon or improvised weapon, is what teachers need.”
Opponents of the new amendment argue that the firearm training is ineffective, and that it makes it more difficult for law enforcement to do their job once they’re on the scene of a school shooting.
An amendment to an existing Utah law allowing teachers to carry a firearm in the classroom has been met with both support and opposition.
To date, Utah schools have not had an active shooting event. However, Governor Cox said that it is only a matter of time before an event like that happens. Nancy Halden, Chair of the Gun Violence Prevention Center of Utah, believes that instead of arming teachers, the focus should be on preventing guns from entering the classroom in the first place.
“There are so many ways that we can keep the gun from ever reaching the school door and we can prevent loss of life,” she said, “Arming teachers is not going to prevent loss of life.”
Some of the ways Halden says lawmakers can prevent guns from reaching schools is through “red flag” laws or safe firearm storage laws. So far, Utah has not adopted such legislation.
Parents, educators, students, and police officers have different views on school safety and arming teachers.
Nationally, parents show varying levels of concern regarding school shootings. According to the Pew Research Center, the majority of parents surveyed (41%) said they were “somewhat” worried about a school shooting. The other majority (31%) said they were “not too” worried. Only seven percent said they were either “extremely” worried or “not at all” worried.
While parents may have their own feelings about the likelihood of a school shooting, the threat itself continues to be a significant concern. When it comes to the effectiveness of arming teachers to prevent shootings or improve safety, researchers have not reached any conclusive findings.
Students' attitude toward their own safety in Utah schools differs from each other. In Davis School district, one student said they felt generally safe but took precautions not to become “a target” for harassment. Another student said they did not feel safe because of Utah’s “anti-gun control” stance.
Law enforcement support for teachers carrying firearms also varies. A 2022 study published in the Crime Prevention and Community Safety journal highlighted that earlier research revealed differing levels of police support for this practice.
Support for arming teachers varied among law enforcement officers across different states, with some expressing approval and others opposing the concept. The 2022 study revealed conditional support for the practice, but the primary concern among police was the need for adequate training.
Halden said thrusting police responsibility onto teachers is not fair to them.“[Police officers] are highly trained and regularly trained,” she said, “And you're going to ask a teacher in addition to grading papers and behavior management and everything else, student well-being, you're going to ask them to do that too?”
In the wake of the new amendment going into effect, TheLine.Info sat down with Nancy Halden, Chair of the Gun Violence Prevention Center of Utah. In this exclusive interview, she shares her views further on why she believes arming teachers is not the solution to school safety and discusses alternative measures that could effectively prevent guns from entering schools.
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