Florida Moms Demand Action, Students Demand Action, Everytown Respond to School Safety Commission Recommendation to Arm Teachers

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Florida chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America and Students Demand Action, both a part of Everytown for Gun Safety, today responded to a vote by the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission recommending that the legislature allow teachers to be armed with guns in schools.

“As a student attending school in Florida, I am appalled that the commission that was established to make schools in our state safer is recommending teachers carry guns,” said Juliana Simone Carrasco, a high school student and volunteer with Students Demand Action. “I don’t want my teachers to be armed, I want my elected leaders to pass policies to keep guns out of the hands of people with dangerous intentions to begin with.”

“There is no evidence that arming teachers makes kids safer,” said Gay Valimont, volunteer leader with the Florida chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. “Our children deserve real solutions to keep them safe from gun violence – like a criminal background check on every gun sale – not policies that will put them at even higher risk.”

Research indicates that arming teachers will make children less safe. For this reason, school safety experts, teachers and law enforcement officials across the country oppose arming teachers. The nation’s two largest organizations of education professionals, the American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association, consistently reject the presence of guns in schools. The National Association of School Resource Officers, the largest organization of school-based law enforcement officers, also opposes arming teachers.

Under current Florida law, schools have multiple options with respect to armed security, including allowing some school staff to carry guns after extensive training. But, the law does not allow staff whose exclusive duty is educational – like teachers – to be armed.