INDIANAPOLIS —Indiana lawmakers on Wednesday advanced a bill that seeks to provide state-funded firearms training for school personnel — including teachers. Bill author Rep. Jim Lucas, R-Seymour, said the proposal responds to deadly mass shootings at schools across the country.
The bill would reallocate funding from the Indiana Safe Schools fund, and others like it, for optional firearms instruction for school employees. It also provides dollars for counseling services for students, teachers, school staff, and employees in the event of a school shooting.
House Democrats opposed the effort, maintaining that Lucas’ bill amounts to a “coordinated campaign” meant to put more guns in schools, as opposed to decreasing threats to students and school staff through resources and “commonsense proposals.”
The measure passed 9-4 from the House Education Committee and now heads to Ways and Means for further consideration, due to its financial impact.
Police resource officers are typically responsible for school safety. But under current Indiana law, school districts can also designate others, including teachers, to carry guns in schools. No training is required. The Lucas bill does not mandate firearm training requirements for teachers or school staff, but he said it does make it available to anyone who wants to “feel safer.”
The voluntary program for teachers would involve 40 hours of training for firearm safety and use, designed to “take the average person on the street and get them to a level of proficiency that, in the event of an active shooter situation, they will at least have an opportunity to defend themselves and those around them if they so choose,” Lucas said.
The Indiana Capital Chronicle covers the Indiana Statehouse. For more information, visit https://indianacapitalchronicle.com/.
Rep. Lucas. Courtesy – IGA
