Doug Mastriano's plan to allow armed teachers and staff in schools brings strong reaction from Josh Shapiro
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — State Sen. Doug Mastriano, the Republican nominee for governor, has a bill to allow school employees to carry guns on school property.
As KDKA-TV political editor Jon Delano reports, the proposal has brought a sharp rebuttal from his Democratic opponent, Attorney General Josh Shapiro.
Schools in this state are generally gun-free zones, But with the recent school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, Mastriano says it's time to let school employees, including teachers, be ready to shoot back at killers. He introduced Senate Bill 1288 to do just that.
In a statement to his Senate colleagues, Mastriano wrote, "I plan to introduce a bill that will allow school employees who possess a valid Pennsylvania concealed carry permit to be armed while on school property. ... Mass murderers are often attracted to 'soft targets' where they know victims are not armed."
"Teachers don't want to be responsible for carrying firearms in their schools. We need to allow teachers to do what they do best, and that's teach our children, and leave the safety and security of our school buildings to trained professionals," said state Rep. Austin Davis, the McKeesport Democrat who is Shapiro's running mate for lieutenant governor.
Shapiro strongly opposes this measure, Davis said. They say they will increase school safety but not with teachers.
"I think we need to leave the safety and security of our school buildings up to the trained professionals, and that's exactly what we're going to do in the Shapiro Davis administration," Davis said.
"It's a dangerous, kind of scary proposal," said Nina Esposito Visgitis, the president of the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers.
She said the last thing teachers need are guns.
"I could never have that worry on me. Is a student going to get into my gun? Do I have to use it? How can I be trained? When would I be trained? How would I get good at really shooting. No, no, teachers are there to teach," she said. "Schools are supposed to be a haven for students. It's supposed to be a place of joy, of peace – and we're going to be packing? It just doesn't compute."
Mastriano, in his statement, says carrying a gun would be voluntary with special training required. And he adds that, so far at least, mass shootings have not occurred at schools where staff is clearly allowed to carry a firearm.
Shapiro's view is that school safety is a law enforcement matter and should not be left up to teachers and school staff.