Local Rep Makes Move to Arm Teachers - WICU12/WSEE Erie, PA News, Sports, Weather and Events

Local Rep Makes Move to Arm Teachers

Schools fight to keep guns out, but could they soon be making them mandatory in classrooms?

A local lawmaker is sponsoring a bill to require teachers to carry guns.

"Just like a police officer is trained, these teachers, staff, administrators would be trained exactly like a police officer would be trained." That's what representative Greg Lucas hopes to accomplish with a new bill he's sponsoring.

It's his first term in office, but he's wasting no time. "I would say you're talking about maybe two or three or four teachers per building," he said.

We sat down with Marcus Schlegel, the local representative of the PA State Education Association (PSEA), to ask if Erie teachers will soon be storing guns next to their lesson plans.

"We do believe that should be left to armed and trained security professionals," said Schlegel. He said there are too many liability issues with having guns in the hands of teachers. 

But hiring security guards for every school concerns Lucas from a financial standpoint.

"The problem with that is gonna be financing," he said. "You're talking about school districts with multiple schools, with multiple entrances into those schools... you need three or four guards per school multiplied by the number of schools."

Schlegel said the money could easily be cut from other areas.

"We believe it's entirely feasible to find the funding if they lessen some corporate tax giveaways to provide security in our schools that everybody would want," he said.

For Lucas, sponsoring this bill is only the beginning of what he says could be a lengthy battle.

"It may or may not come out of committee so... it's a long process," he said. "I've seen things come through pretty quickly and I've seen things take years and years and years."

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