Nearly half of Americans believe it is a good idea to arm teachers and train them to protect students against school shootings, according to a new Rasmussen poll released Friday.
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The survey revealed that 49 percent of American adults believe teachers should be armed and trained to take on a school shooter. The number of adults who support the idea has increased from 41 percent who were in favor of the proposal in 2018.
While 37 percent of American adults say arming teachers is a bad idea, another 15 percent aren’t sure.
Democrats are more likely to be “very worried” about future school shootings than Republicans or those unaffiliated with a party. However, fewer Democrats than Republicans think it’s a good idea to have armed and trained teachers.
Most Americans with children think arming teachers is a good plan, whereas 43 percent of Americans without children support the idea.
Americans whose incomes range from $30,000 to $50,000 are more likely to support arming teachers than Americans who make $200,000 or above.
The survey comes as schools across the country are taking steps to ensure the safety of their students. One school district in Florida has placed AR-15 rifles in a safe in all schools to better prepare school resource officers for a possible active shooter situation.
“Our folks are there to protect the kids. Our folks are bringing guns, they’re the good guys. When bad guys show up with guns they’re gonna find our guns. They’re gonna find out that we’re well prepared and that we’re prepared for that threat,” Indian River County Sheriff Eric Flowers said. “We’ve seen what’s happened in Parkland. We’ve seen what happened in Uvalde. Our folks are not gonna stand by and wait for something bad to happen to kids in Indian River County.”
Earlier this year, Madison County, North Carolina Sheriff Buddy Harwood announced a similar plan in the wake of the Uvalde, Texas, Robb Elementary school shooting, during which 19 children and two teachers were killed. Harwood said that a safe, AR-15 rifle, and other security tools had been installed in the county’s six public schools.
