Controversial bill passes, certifies gun-toting teachers in class

The Missouri Senate passed a bill on Thursday to add protections for those who carry in public and for teachers who carry guns on campus, the Associated Press reported.

Once the state Department of Public Safety establishes training facilities and guidelines, schools will be required to designate teachers or administrators who carry on campuses as “school protection officers.”

The officers will have to undergo Peace Officer Standards and Training certification and submit to a background check.

“I think it’s important that we train those individuals if they are going to be carrying,” state Republican Sen. Will Kraus, the bill’s sponsor, told AP.

Missouri is now the 10th state to pass this type of legislation since the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, AP reported.

In addition to lowering the age a person can legally carry from 21 to 19, the new law also provides further protections for those wishing to carry in public by decreeing that no local or state body can prohibit an individual from doing so. Also, police may not disarm a person just because they’re carrying a gun.

Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon vetoed the bill in July, saying it won’t make schools safer.

“I have supported and will continue to support the use of duly authorized law enforcement officers employed as school resource officers, but I cannot condone putting firearms in the hands of educators who should be focused on teaching our kids” Nixon said in a statement.

The governor vetoed a similar bill last year that would have allowed the state to sue federal officers who attempted to enforce federal gun control laws, AP reported.

Nixon has not yet issued a statement about Senate Bill 656’s recent passing and could not be reached for comment by story deadline.

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