Bill Allowing PA Teachers To Carry Guns Advances

Legislation that would allow teachers to carry handguns in Pennsylvania schools has advanced in the state legislature, and the issue is predictably raising tempers on both sides.

Senate Bill 383, also known as the School Safety Bill, would give teachers the option of carrying concealed firearms on school property and in the classroom. Detractors of the bill don't want firearms around children. Defenders, like bill sponsor Sen. Donald White, a Republican representing the 41st District, think that it could protect students from incidents of violence in schools, like mass shootings or stabbings.

“Since I first introduced this proposal, there has been much discussion about what the measure does and how it relates to current Pennsylvania law,” White, who represents Butler, Indiana, and Westmoreland counties, said in a statement. “To be clear, this bill is not about the Second Amendment. It’s about permitting the 500 school districts of this Commonwealth to have greater choices when it comes to protecting our most precious resource – our children.”

The bill would also allow school staff members, like maintenance workers or any administrative employees, to carry firearms.

Gov. Tom Wolf's press secretary, J.J. Abbott, released a statement on behalf of the governor condemning the legislation.

“Governor Wolf strongly opposes this bill and will veto it," Abbott said. "School personnel shouldn’t be told that the only help they will get from Harrisburg to make schools safer is the option to carry a loaded gun around their students."

White said that the proposal would be especially effective in rural communities, where police response time is slower.

However, Abbott said that it's more important to provide additional funding to schools so that they can hire trained security professionals.

The bill passed in the Senate's Education Committee by a vote of 9-3. State Senators Andy Dinniman, Daylin Leach, and Anthony Williams, all Democrats from southeastern Pennsylvania, voted no.

The legislation will now be discussed and voted on by the full Senate.

Image courtesy Augustas Didžgalvis - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Commons