Horne: Armed school faculty good second option to police

When it comes to protecting Arizona schools, Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne said, while he would prefer armed police officers in every school, the idea is not financially viable and arming faculty is a good second option.

“It’s unlikely the legislature is going to be able to afford to pay for a policeman in every school,” he told News/Talk 92.3 KTAR’s Karie & Chuck on Thursday. “This is the second best proposal.”

Horne’s proposal would see one volunteer faculty member, likely the principal, at each school trained in handling a firearm and emergency situation response. Once they complete the course, that faculty member would be permitted to keep a firearm in a secure location on school property. Their name would not be released.

“I see my proposal as a golden mean between two extremes,” said Horne. “One extreme, as people have proposed, would let any teacher who wants to to bring guns to school. I think that would create more danger than it would solve.”

Horne said the other extreme is not doing anything and possibly allowing another incident similar to that in Newtown, Conn. to occur.

Overall, Horne said he has received many messages of support, including some from county sheriffs, but some teachers’ unions said they feel multiple guns on campus will create more potential violence. Horne said he shares that fear.

“If you have a lot of guns around the school, kids will get at them,” he said. “It could cause a lot of trouble. When teachers confiscate cell phones, sometimes kids can break the locks and get at their cell phones. It wouldn’t be safe to have a lot of people bringing guns.”