A Call to Arms: Teachers in Conservative States Are Volunteering to Carry Guns

By Darlene McCormick Sanchez
June 9, 2022 Updated: June 9, 2022

Crosses and flowers laid out in the public square of the grief-stricken town Uvalde, where a teen gunman killed 19 students and two teachers, are an all-too-familiar scene igniting a call to arms for teachers in Texas and beyond.

The Republican-led Texas legislature is addressing the twin issues of school safety and mass violence following the May 24 Uvalde, Texas, school shooting. Committees of lawmakers are reviewing past legislative efforts, such as the Guardian and Marshal programs that allow teachers to carry firearms in the hopes of hardening schools as targets. School officials and firearm trainers in the Lone Star State say interest has risen sharply since the recent shooting.

Jeff Sellers owns Schools on Target, a company in Marble Falls, Texas, that trains teachers to carry firearms in schools. Since the school shooting, Sellers told The Epoch Times that he has added nine additional classes—double the amount customarily held—for June through August.

“I’ve gotten an insane amount of calls,” Sellers said. “It hasn’t stopped. Ninety percent is because of Uvalde.”

Bryan Proctor, owner of Go Strapped Firearms Training in Arlington, Texas, told The Epoch Times much the same thing—that training requests for the Guardian program have skyrocketed.

“We’ve had about a 100 percent increase,” Proctor said. “It’s been pretty dramatic. I’ve sent out over 20 proposals in the past week.”

Proctor said teachers want to protect their students and themselves, despite what people may be hearing form the select voices in legacy media.

“What you’re seeing is a vocal minority,” Proctor said. Arming teachers isn’t about giving them something else to be responsible for—but instead giving them a tool as a last defense.

Elsewhere, state legislatures are investigating how to make schools safer and arm teachers.

Louisiana is currently looking at legislation similar to Texas, allowing teachers to carry guns in schools after receiving specialized training. Ohio’s latest bill aims to be less restrictive than the current law, mandating 700 hours of police training and board approval before allowing teachers to be armed.

Republican governors Bill Lee of Tennessee and Ron DeSantis of Florida took action on school security this week. Lee signed an executive order June 6 to ensure working safety protocols at schools, and to evaluate training for active shooter scenarios. DeSantis signed a school safety bill into law on June 7 that focused on crisis intervention and training, and mental health awareness.

Meanwhile, teacher unions have nixed the idea and portrayed arming teachers as unpopular with educators. A 2018 Gallup poll found that 73 percent of teachers oppose the idea.
Epoch Times Photo

Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America during a anti gun rally on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 10, 2015. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

Meanwhile, policies to arm teachers in some form has widespread participation throughout the country amid the horror of gunmen targeting schools for mass shootings. The RAND Corporation reported in 2020 that 28 states permit armed teachers under some circumstances, while states such as Texas and Florida have passed laws encouraging the practice.

In North Florida, one principal at a private Christian school said he would like to see the program expanded to include private schools. The principal, who didn’t wish to be identified, said he added chain-link fencing around his school’s 40-acre perimeter and allowed just one-way traffic onto the campus, except during drop-off and pick-up times.

Now, cameras monitor doors into buildings, and access is controlled remotely or with special key fobs. Classrooms stay locked throughout the day. But it’s not enough anymore, he said.

He asked for training under Florida’s school guardian program to protect his school’s 340 students, ranging from toddlers to high school seniors. He was denied because the program doesn’t extend to private schools.

Currently, it is open to employees of public schools or charter schools who volunteer to serve as guardians and their official job duties. To qualify, they must pass psychological and drug screenings, and complete a 144-hour training course.


Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) arrives at a memorial service on the one-year anniversary of the shooting which claimed 17 lives at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., U.S., on Feb. 14, 2019. (Joe Skipper/File Photo/Reuters)

Sheriff’s offices in 45 of Florida’s 67 counties participate and receive funding to cover screening and training costs. And guardians receive a one-time bonus of $500 for serving in the program. Schools in districts can arrange to send employees for certification.

So the principal is now training on his own to become a licensed, armed security guard.

“It’s the only option,” he said. “Even before this last school shooting, I said, ‘I’ve got to go get this taken care of.’ So we’re doing it the right way.”

About a decade ago, Texas lawmakers created the school Marshal program, as a way for educators to carry weapons inside schools, and later initiated the Guardian program.

Under the Marshal program, school employees can carry a handgun on school premises after 80 hours of training. However, school marshals are restricted from carrying concealed firearms if they are regularly in contact with students. Instead, the marshal can store a gun in a safe at the school. There are 62 school districts participating in this plan, according to the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement.

Gretchen Grigsby, director of government relations with the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement, told The Epoch Times that 30 new students and nine new school districts have signed up for the Marshal program since the Uvalde shooting.

The Guardian program authorizes school boards to arm employees under the federal Gun-Free School Zones Act and the Texas Penal Code. After completing 16 hours of training, those employees may carry a concealed firearm in the presence of students. According to the Texas Association of School Boards, 389 districts reported using the Guardian plan as of May.

While Democrats are calling for gun control, people like Sellers reiterate that the only thing that can stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. Sellers told The Epoch Times that the first few minutes of an active shooter situation are critical, and arming teachers could save lives.

“In active shooting incidents, time is everything,” Sellers said. “No gun control law is going to stop evil from conducting evil acts.”
Epoch Times Photo

File photo showing people singing the national anthem during a rally promoting Second Amendment rights, in Washington, D.C., on July 7, 2018. (Toya Sarno Jordan/Getty Images)

Madalyn Maresh is an assistant superintendent at the Edna Independent School District, a rural 3A district northeast of Victoria, Texas. She told The Epoch Times that her district reopened the application process for the Guardian program at her school in response to the Uvalde shooting.

“The day I reopened it, I got two applications immediately,” she said. In the three years since the program has been operational, she gets between 3 to 10 volunteers per year. Without guns for protection, teachers are forced to use their own bodies to shield students from an active shooter, she said.

“You’ve got to find what fits your community. We got zero push back on it—our community embraces it,” Maresh said.

Kyle Collier, police chief for City View ISD in Wichita Falls, Texas, said an additional four or five teachers volunteered after the Uvalde shooting.

Nanette Holt contributed to this report.
https://www.theepochtimes.com/a-call-to-arms-teachers-in-conservative-states-are-volunteering-to-carry-guns_4519281.html?est=4g%2B2Bk6InJbkYh93GcKOUlKZ9Qhq7c0JY6g3gxt2SrOTRlcCMlZ5et5V

Just my opinion but teachers shouldn't have to carry guns to school and children shouldn't have to learn to hide from shooters. We need a better mouse trap.

In a perfect world, but how do we get there from here, and in the meantime if not hardening the known soft targets (gun free zones)??

Regards,
hm

Even trained military and law enforcement can get cold feet when the SHTF. How can we expect teachers to be any different? A week or two of training? Just knowing what to do doesn't matter if the will to do it isn't there. I agree that a hard target will help but a retired law enforcement officer or prior military seems a much better choice. And they might even need the job. Children can't learn and teachers can't teach thinking they may not make it through the day alive. I think just knowing there is armed law enforcement on the property will be somewhat of a deterrent.

That is true, however, one or two SRO's cannot be everywhere on a large campus and trained* armed teachers sprinkled in would offer a similar deterrent on a campus that CCW does in public.

FL gives their armed teachers a bit more than a couple of weeks training, and that's a good thing. Not sure what requirements are in other states:


Regards,
hm

Allow me to add a point to the discussion. First, when these conversations come up there is always a bunch of bluster and macho talk from a bunch of people who's biggest struggle lately has been wrestling their way out of the bed covers in the morning.
Regarding how one will react in a threat, nobody knows until they are in it up to their neck. In my first officer involved shooting I had a partner with me. He had worked in LE with my agency for about two years and was a proven commodity. By that I mean he had been involved in plenty of fights with resisting subjects, a few pursuits and some guns out situations and had never faltered. Until one night when we were ambushed by a meth cook with a 12 gauge seeking some pay back. That meth cook set us up with a 911 call and then ambushed us with the shotgun from extremely close range. My partner reacted by running up the street about a block away and screaming on the radio to the point of making that channel useless for several minutes until dispatch settled him down. He left me to directly deal with the attacker, which I did. Later when I was able to talk to my partner I asked him where he had gone and I'll never forget the blank stare he gave me as he said, "I went to get you some help!" And I said, "You were my help..." He quit the job three days later and honestly told me, "I just realized I'm not cut out for this crap." I respect him for his honesty, he is a good man and I still wouldn't go pick a fight with him because he is a tough son of a gun in a fisticuff.

I have noticed that it depends on the circumstances.
I think it depends on what the situation means to a person. The more it is worth the more risk. I think sometimes the person does not know this. They may be totally surprised at their own bravery or not and not know why.
Also mind set. Decision already made in advance. Sometimes they hold up and sometimes not.
Sometimes a person can be solid for a long time then one day something happens that touches a different nerve.
I have seen big strong men come completely unglued. Have seen little old women knee deep in it.

As far as schools there is a lot more than just shooters kids need to be secure from.
A fence might be good with security on the grounds. The plan being not to let a shooter get to the school. If this fails then armed teachers could be the second line. They are there every day anyway. Complacency is a big factor. It's hard to be alert day after day when nothing ever happens.


Like other things there is not one size fits all answers. Different schools in different places need different things.
I think parents and grand parents in country settings could provide unarmed security without adding risks. Most anyone can check doors and stuff like that.
I don't know about big city schools. Maybe the National Guard?

We messed up when we accepted tube socks. They don't fit everybody they fit nobody. One size fits all is a very bad thing. We should have never tried to get used to that concept in the first place.

What still puzzles me is the door situation??? Even my gun club has doors that automatically lock when closed unless a combination is used to keep them unlocked. You can get out but you can't get in. While I realize you can't chain them shut, you can dang sure keep them locked. Tulsa and Broken Arrow have large schools and there is at least one and most times two patrol cars in the parking lot. So far it seems to be working.....so far.

From what I have read the door was blocked open by a teacher who was making repeated trips in and out to their car in the parking lot.

Crashes truck driving to the school, yet finds the unlocked door. [beeep]?

According to one or more reports, after shooting @ neighboring funeral parlor and the school for (about 15 minutes???) yet.

Lots of questions and variations of reported "facts" flying around. No single solution will ever stop such senseless acts unfortunately, but the most glaring common thread always seems to be soft targets, followed closely by juvenile and/or mentally challenged perpetrators, so that seems to be the first step that should be looked at.

Regards,
hm

97% of mass shootings have been in gun free zones.

Schools by & large are gun free zones.

We don't need all teachers to be armed. We don't even need a large percentage to be armed. We do need for it to be legal for teachers, staff & other adults on school grounds to be armed so any little goblin who thinks it's a soft target simply won't know if it is or not.

EXACTLY

It all depends on the teacher, and their life story. In Jr High, and High School in the 60's I had a couple teachers who were WWII vets that had walked across Europe. They would have made quick work of any of these creeps if they were armed. I'm sure we have teachers today who are combat vets that could help with internal security.

I just read where Ohio approved arming teachers after 24 hours of training. 24 hours? Really?