US SCHOOL ARMS TEACHERS, WARNS POTENTIAL ATTACKERS
the entrance to Sidney High School in small town Ohio, there is a poster which reads: “Inside this building, our children are protected by an armed and trained response team.”
In rural Shelby County, law enforcement trained some teachers to fight back, should an attacker threaten students. They were among the first in the United States to embrace the controversial strategy.
On Halloween, as high school students and staff roam the hallways, John Pence—a firearm on his belt—patrols calmly.
He is a full-time resource officer, assigned to ensure security at Sidney High. That arrangement has become commonplace across the country, as the number of school shootings has multiplied.
But he has backup: the response team of armed teachers, who have volunteered for the job.
So far, about 15 US states have approved similar setups, but many are not happy about putting weapons in the hands of educators.
Pence rejects the usual arguments, saying: “In some areas, probably it might not work. But most of these employees have been exposed to some type of firearms training beforehand.”
One Sidney teacher, who cannot be named, is indeed one such case. He is an avid hunter.
He says he had “no fears, no hesitations” about joining the effort to safeguard the school.