In the wake of the deadly Uvalde school shooting that left 19 kids and two adults dead, the heated debate of whether to arm teachers or not has been a major topic between both parties.
In the midst of all the gun control talk, Ohio may soon allow teachers to be armed in classrooms.
HB 99, which passed by a 23-9 vote in the State Senate and a 56-34 vote in the State House, was fast-tracked through the legislature, allowing teachers and other school staff to carry guns on school premises requiring only 24 hours of training.
It would mandate at least 18 hours of general training, two hours of handgun training, two hours of "additional" general training, and two hours of "additional" handgun training, as well as requiring teachers to get yearly background checks.
In a statement, Gov. Mike Dewine (R-OH) defended the bill that he is expected to sign saying, “My office worked with the General Assembly 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,” adding “House Bill 99 accomplishes these goals, and I thank the General Assembly for passing this bill to protect Ohio children and teachers. I look forward to signing this important legislation."
The bill will allow individual school districts to decide whether or not teachers can carry firearms, also giving schools the option to require teachers to have additional hours of training if they feel it’s needed. However, the bill says the initial training cannot be more than 24 hours.