Outside, demonstrators rallied in support of stricter gun controls on the steps of the Colorado Capital on Monday. Inside, a Senate committee voted to defeat Senate Bill 9, a measure to allow Colorado teachers to carry concealed weapons. The Republican bill was introduced to allow individual school boards to let some school employees, including teachers, carry concealed weapons into schools as long as they processed the proper permits failed.
Concealed weapons are not allowed at Colorado schools, and many feel that gun free zones haven’t worked to keep teachers and students safe. Others are adamant in voicing their opinions that putting teachers in the position of being the last line of defense in the effort to prevent another tragic school shooting is not the answer.
According to an article in the Denver Post , retired math teacher Eileen McCarron, president of Colorado Ceasefire stated "We Coloradans do not wish to turn our school into prisons or our teachers into prison guards.” The group, along with the Colorado Education Association was opposed to the bill.
Not all teachers feel the same. According to the same Denver Post article:
State Sen. Ted Harvey, R-Highlands Ranch, a co-sponsor of the bill, said his wife is a teacher and his kids attend public school.
"My wife and my kids are sitting ducks," Harvey said, arguing that allowing teachers to carry concealed weapons would give children a better chance to survive if a shooter enters a school.
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