The Idaho Legislature is doing it again: attempting to bypass parents, school boards and those empowered to keep the peace. If approved, HB 415, allowing staff in public schools to carry concealed firearms, may bring an armed teacher to a school near you.
While we commend the desire to keep children safe, HB415 is a bad bill. We decry the fallacy that more guns in enclosed spaces make the world a better place. The legislation does not allow for local input, fails to promote standard practices such as active shooter training and lacks policy recommendations for local school boards.
One of the bill’s requirements is that all “gun-free zone” signs located in schools be removed. This one graphic change demonstrates that schools are no longer safe places and that the violence endemic on our streets is now potentially in the classroom. Once a potential shooter realizes that some employees are armed, all of them are now targets of opportunity.
HB415 is legislation in search of a problem. school districts in Idaho already have the right to authorize concealed carry for their staff. There is a handful of districts in Idaho that have taken this step. Those districts participating in concealed carry have policies requiring robust training requirements, active shooter training, collaboration with local law enforcement, and most importantly, majority community and parent support.
HB415 would allow bus drivers, contractors, janitors, volunteers and more to have concealed firearms both on school grounds and at extracurricular activities. Imagine the potential for chaos if a true emergency occurs.
Research consistently demonstrates that most people experiencing a life-threatening crisis either freeze or flee the threat. Some may opt to fight, but what little training this bill mandates will be overwritten by hard-wired biological responses. During life-threatening situations, most individuals become instinct-driven. Shooting a gun takes calmness and precision, not wild and undirected lashing out. There is a reason the police have specialized and highly trained SWAT teams. The average school employee has other things to do which preclude this level of combat readiness. Teaching, serving lunches or driving a school bus come to mind.
The fundamental purpose of schools is to provide a safe and supportive learning environment. The introduction of firearms, even if concealed, could significantly alter the atmosphere within schools. The focus of education should be on creating a nurturing environment that encourages learning and development, not on preparing for potential gun-related incidents.
Most school staff will opt not to complete training and become what amounts to an unpaid adjunct to law enforcement. Those who choose to accept this burden assume significant moral and technical responsibility. As Parkwood in Florida and Uvalde in Texas graphically demonstrate, this is a burden even trained law enforcement has found impossible to sustain. Do not ask this of our teachers, who already carry the lives and minds of our future leaders in their hands. Allow them to do what they are best at, passing on knowledge, values and culture.
Todd DeVries is a mental health advocate and the state committeeman for the Bonneville County Democratic Central Committee.