Arizona AG Proposes Allowing One Staffer per School to Carry Gun

Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne wants one staff member in every school in the state permitted to carry a gun to prevent the sort of disaster that occurred in Newtown, Conn., on Dec. 21.

The ideal solution would be to post an armed police officer in each school, which some already do, he says in a statement. But budget constraints already have led to cutbacks in this program.

“In that case, the next best solution is to have one person in the school trained to handle firearms, to handle emergency situations, and possessing a firearm in a secure location. This proposal is analogous to arming pilots on planes,” Horne states.

He jointly proposed his plan with three county sheriffs, and other sheriffs may join.

Each school would designate the principal or another staffer to be trained in gun use and how to handle emergencies. The designated individual — no more than one per school —then would be authorized to keep a gun locked in a secure place, after an examination for fitness.

“This proposal presents a golden mean between two extremes,” according to a release announcing it. “One extreme is to allow all teachers to bring guns to school, which could create more dangers than it prevents. The other extreme is to do nothing, which everyone will regret if a preventable incident like Newtown would occur in the future.”