Ohio is seeking to decrease the requirements to arm school staff members or permit employees to carry firearms in response to the last mass school shooting after a shooter opened fire in a Uvalde elementary school, killing 19 children. Republicans are trying to find any solution, except for the most obvious one. Gun safety advocates, teachers' groups, and school security experts don't think this is a very good idea, but the GOP is going forward with it.
The response to the loss of life from Republicans has been shamefu.. It is clear that they value AR-15s more than children's lives. It's amazing that Republicans, who treat educators like dirt, now trust Mrs. Mandot, the 5th-grade almost-retired history teacher, to be armed.
Ohio State Rep. Dontavius L. Jarrells posed a good question. "What would happen if a teacher mistakenly shoots a student, is that teacher liable for damages for the death of that child?"
Rep. Thomas Hall — the bill's sponsor — didn't seem too comfortable answering Jarrells' question, saying that this bill only has to do with training teachers to use firearms. However, the training period required has been reduced to only 24 hours. Training used to require 700 hours. Arming teachers without fully training them doesn't seem like a very good idea, and Jarrells' question is important. Hall called his question "grandstanding."
Jarrells responded by saying that teachers have told him that they are scared.
Republicans have told us that 'more guns' is the answer for years. It's getting old. Meanwhile, children are being slaughtered. The Second Amendment needs to be repealed, but we need to vote Republicans out of office to do that.
