Mike DeWine is the Governor of Ohio. He said that he would sign legislation to allow teachers and others in schools to have firearms as long as they had completed at least 24 hours of firearms training. After a string of mass shootings, the Ohio Senate passed the bill.
Teachers must be trained as peace officers in order to allow them to carry weapons. This training takes on average 700 hours. According to News 5 Cleveland, however, the bill passed recently would reduce that requirement by over 95%.
It was intended to “remove hundreds of hours of curriculum irrelevant to school safety and to ensure training requirements were specific to a school environment and contained significant scenario-based training,”DeWine added.
According to the governor, both teachers and students would be protected by this legislation.
It does not prevent schools from providing additional training for those who wish to possess arms, or from refusing permission for armed students on school premises. Every year, all persons carrying arms would have to pass a criminal background screening.
Additionally, the legislation will create an Ohio School Safety and Crisis Center as part of the Department of Public safety.
The bill was supported by Republicans while Democrats were against it. Ohio House of Representatives Minority leader Allison Russo stated that it would make guns easier for students to be brought to school. “irresponsible, reckless, and dangerous.”She was critical of her GOP colleagues’ choice “shoot-first laws,”Instead, do more detailed background checks and ensure firearm safety.
GOP legislators stated that the bill would allow schools to create their safety rules, and also help them confront criminals. “In emergency situations at our schools, seconds matter and tragedies can be prevented,” Thomas Hall, the bill’s lead sponsor, said.
Ten people were killed by a gunman in Buffalo’s mall, New York on May 14. A teenager murdered 19 children and 2 teachers in Uvalde elementary school, Texas less than two weeks after the attack.
A former patient set fire to a Tulsa hospital, Oklahoma on June 1st, killing four.
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