Wyoming school district votes to let teachers be armed

A school district in Wyoming voted Tuesday to allow teachers to be armed.

The Park County School District No. 6 — in the town of Cody, near Yellowstone National Park — voted 4-2 to allow teachers to carry concealed guns in school, The Associated Press reported.

The proposal requires that teachers have 24 hours of initial firearm training and annual recertification.

{mosads}“Unfortunately we have people in our country who want to cause harm to students and at some point you have to respond to that threat. And that’s what this board decided to do with the policy they adopted,” said Superintendent Ray Schulte.

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos in January of last year cited the Wyoming area when she used grizzly bear attacks as part of her reasoning for allowing states to determine their own gun policies in schools.

She said during her confirmation hearing at the time Wyoming schools may need guns to “protect from potential grizzlies.”

“It doesn’t have anything to do with grizzly bears,” Schulte said, according to the AP. “It has to do with the Wyoming Legislature.”

The decision to allow teachers to be armed comes as lawmakers in cities and states across the country are discussing new gun measures to prevent future shootings.

The debates follow the February shooting at a high school in Parkland, Fla., that left 17 people dead.

Since the shooting, students have become vocal advocates for gun control, demanding lawmakers take action against gun violence.

Hundreds of thousands of people marched last month in cities across the country to protest gun violence and demand action.

President Trump earlier this year raised the idea of arming teachers to keep schools safe, saying the measure would deter potential school shooters.