SEYMOUR, Ind. (WDRB) -- A southern Indiana lawmaker thinks a teacher with a gun and lots of training might be the best defense against a school shooter.
That idea isn't new in the Hoosier State. Districts can already choose to arm qualified teachers, but only a few districts do.
"I'm not trying to change anything here," said Rep. Jim Lucas (R-District 69), who represents Seymour.
Lucas would like to see more teachers participate, and he hopes his bill will make that happen.
"I want to stress: This is voluntary," he said. "There are no mandates here."
His bill would create a special curriculum to train willing teachers in willing districts to use guns in the hope of protecting students faster if the unthinkable happens.
"To not do something in the face of a known evil, to me — that's evil itself," Lucas said.
Lucas said the state could pay for 45 teachers to get trained for the price of one school resource officer, and each teacher who chooses to participate would get 48 hours of training.
"It's actually more strenuous than what we currently require of a recruit to go through the law enforcement academy," Lucas said.
The bill has plenty of support in Indianapolis, but it has critics too. In a meeting this week, Sen. Eddie Melton (D-District 3) said the bill is flawed.
"It is assumed that, in the blink of an eye, during an incredible stressful, noisy, chaotic environment, that a teacher will be able to instantly transition from reading 'The Cat in the Hat' to become the skilled security force to take down someone," he said.
Lee Bridges, a firearms instructor and manager of Accuracy Unlimited in Seymour, Bridges would love to soon see Indiana teachers at his range. He is 100 percent behind the bill.
"School teachers have to take care of students," he said. "They look out for their welfare. Why wouldn't they protect them?"
House Bill 1253 has already passed the Indiana House, and Lucas hopes it'll pass the Senate next week.
Copyright 2019 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved.
