The Ohio chapter of Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, both part of Everytown for Gun Safety, today released the following statement after the Ohio Senate Government Oversight and Reform Committee held a hearing on SB 317, a bill that would allow teachers to carry a gun at school without extensive training. Ohio law requires teachers to complete peace officer training in order to carry a gun in schools; SB 317 would exempt teachers from this significant requirement.
“It’s bad enough that Ohio lawmakers want to arm our teachers and put more guns in schools, and now they are working to roll back training requirements,” said Zack Maaieh, volunteer with the Toledo chapter of Students Demand Action and senior at Ottawa Hills High School. “This isn’t about politics – it’s about protecting students, and I don’t want to go to school with teachers carrying guns they have no idea how to use.”
In March, an Ohio appeals court ordered the Madison Local School District to halt a program allowing teachers to carry hidden, loaded weapons in classrooms with minimal training, finding that arming public school teachers with only 24 hours of training is illegal under state law.