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Teachers respond to Trump: We don't want guns, arm us with this instead

President Trump has proposed training teachers to use firearms to defend their students. But teachers say they really need to be armed with this instead.

By Kevin John Siazon

Teachers respond to Trump: We don't want guns, arm us with this instead

Photo: iStockphoto

It has been about a week since the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, and students, activists and survivors have been advocating tirelessly for federal gun control. However, President Trump is suggesting what seems to be the complete opposite: more guns. In fact, he doesn't just want more guns, but more guns in schools.

His suggestion is to arm 20 percent of teachers with guns and give them firearms training to be able to better defend students in the time it takes for police officers to arrive on the scene. He suggested this idea during a White House listening session with the survivors of the attack—yep, he said this while surrounded by the kids who had just experienced a mass shooting firsthand—and reiterated his thoughts in a series of tweets the next day. Since then, teachers from all over America have been tweeting back with their thoughts on his master plan. Here's what they had to say:




Even this teacher who has experience with guns doesn't want the responsibility of having to take down an armed shooter on their school's campus.

Many other teachers tweeted with suggestions of other things to arm teachers with instead of guns. Using the hashtag #ArmMeWith, these teachers are proposing other more helpful resources, such as social-emotional training and mental health support for both teachers and students.






These are the things teachers are saying they need to educate and raise kids in a safe environment, and these are the things they—as the ones who spend the most time with our kids—are saying can positively combat the vicious cycle that leads to mass shootings at schools. So no, President Trump, giving guns to teachers will not solve this problem, and teachers are saying loud and clear that they don't want them.

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