This week, U.S. Rep. Val Demings, D-Fla., brought out a bill ensuring federal anti-terrorism funds are not used to arm teachers.
Demings brought out the “Secure Communities and Safe Schools Act” on Tuesday night. The bill would ensure Homeland Security grant money and Urban Area Security Initiative grant money would not be used to arm teachers. From her perch on the U.S. House Homeland Security Committee, Demings, who led the Orlando Police Department and is a career law enforcement officer, attempted to amend another bill but that measure was withdrawn after the Orlando congresswoman offered her amendment.
On Wednesday, Demings weighed in on why she offered the proposal, noting that polls show Americans are opposed to the idea of arming teachers and noting that Gov. Asa Hutchinson, R-Ark., who worked for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, was calling on the Trump administration to use DHS grants to arm teachers.
“Giving guns to teachers to stop school shootings is preposterous on every level,” Demings said.
“First, we should prevent mass shootings, not complicate them. As the former chief of the Orlando Police Department, I can tell you that having multiple armed individuals present in an active shooter event only complicates the response. Arming teachers would lead to taxpayer-sponsored shootouts, endangering out-skilled and out-gunned teachers, and putting children in the crossfire.
“Second, teachers want to be teachers. A national survey of teachers found that most would refuse if offered the choice to carry a firearm. Many have said they would quit,” Demings continued. “Third, arming teachers could severely hurt our children’s education. Effective educators have a bond with their students—an understanding that teachers are safety nets, confidants, a parental figure in a home away from home. We should never engage in any action that would jeopardize that relationship.
“And finally, every dollar we spend arming teachers with anti-terror funding is a dollar we cannot spend on terrorist threats,” she concluded. “Terrorist threats are ever-evolving, and our local governments and law enforcement need federal support. To redirect scarce funds into this absurd proposal is reckless and unacceptable.”
The bill was sent to the House Homeland Security Committee. U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., is cosponsoring the proposal.
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