Florida make new law allowing school teachers to carry guns

After 17 people were killed and another 17 her injured in a high school in Florida, the US state has made a drastic move.

Teachers at schools in Florida will be carrying guns in the classroom from today under a law designed to stop school massacres.

The law is a direct response to the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

Former student Nikolas Cruz, 19, is facing 17 charges of premeditated murder following the Valentine’s Day shooting that left 17 people dead and another 17 people injured.

Under the program, which passed the Florida legislature in May and will be administered by the Florida Department of Education, “guardians” will be required to undertake 144 hours of training and “must pass psychological and drug screenings”.

Guardians are armed personnel who aid in the prevention or abatement of active assailant incidents on school premises, the department says.

They are either school employees who volunteer to serve in addition to official job duties or personnel hired for the specific purpose of serving as a school guardian.

Guardians receive a once-off payment of $500 for volunteering to carry guns with them inside the classroom.

Florida’s Commissioner of Education Richard Corcoran says the new laws are the “not only the safest way to protect kids” but also “the cheapest”.

In 10 years, every single school in Florida will have guardian teachers. It’s coming. It’s going to happen, he said.

Bill Husfelt, superintendent for Bay County Schools, told CBS News the measure was about “more protection”, not simply more guns.

You know, until you’re standing in front of someone with a gun pointed at you, you don’t realise how helpless you really are, he said.

But critics say there is a lack of oversight and teachers are being “burdened” with the extra responsibility.

Debbi Hixon, whose husband Chris was killed in the Parkland shooting, said the program needs to be changed.

Teachers should not be burdened whether they think they want to or not with the responsibility of worrying about carrying a firearm, she said.

According to CNN, school districts in Texas, Utah, Arkansas and South Dakota have allowed educators to carry firearms on campus.