School shooting survivor begs Nebraska lawmakers not to arm teachers

Provision of arming school teachers ‘would drive them out of the profession’, say opponents

A bill in Nebraska allowing teachers and other school staff to carry firearms in a bid to deter school shootings has drawn opposition from shooting survivors.

The Legislative Bill, 1339, introduced by state senator Tom Brewer, authorises school governing bodies and other education institutions to adopt policies allowing qualified personnel to carry firearms on school property and during school events.

Introduced by Mr Brewer on 17 January, along with 28 other senators, it also removes criminal sanctions for off-duty and retired law enforcement officers carrying weapons on school grounds and encourages schools to provide mapping data to public safety agencies during emergency response.

“I don’t want children to die,” Mr Brewer, a long-time gun rights advocate, said during the introduction of the bill.

However, opponents of the bill, including parents and educators, argue that it poses a significant danger to students and school staff, with some arguing that arming staff could act as an incentive for those shooters who are suicidal.

Tim Royers, president of the Millard Education Association and school shooting survivor from 13 years ago, gave an emotional testimony arguing against the proposals in the bill.

Mr Royers was in his school’s lunchroom overseeing students on 5 January 2011, when someone announced over the school’s speakers, "Code Red".

He and other teachers scrambled to gather as many students as possible and search for a room in which to hide.

"I will never forget the looks on those students’ faces," he said.

Authorities later said that a 17-year-old student – the son of an Omaha police detective – had been suspended from Millard South High School, but he returned that same day with his father’s service revolver. He fatally shot the assistant principal and wounded the school’s principal before killing himself.

In the years since, he has never heard any educators express a desire to be armed, Mr Royers said. "But I’ve had plenty of them tell me that a provision like this would drive them out of the profession," he said to the committee.

Even highly trained police aren’t 100 per cent accurate with their aim, Sharon O’Neal, a former Lincoln educator, told Omaha World- Herald, adding that more guns will increase the risk of more innocents getting hurt.

Mr Brewer said those opposing the bill aren’t being fair to schools in rural areas that "are unable to fill law enforcement positions, let alone resource officer positions."

"We are an island that has decided not to protect our children," he said.

At least 32 states have laws allowing teachers or other school staff to be armed during school hours, according to the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. That includes all of Nebraska’s neighboring states, including Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming and South Dakota.

Additional reporting by agencies