Texas' Canadian Independent School District Votes To Allow Teachers To Carry Guns On Campus

Texas District Votes To Allow Teachers To Carry Guns On Campus

Another Texas school district took steps to arm teachers in the name of protection.

In a unanimous vote Tuesday, the school board for the Canadian Independent School District decided to allow select trained teachers to carry guns on campus, according to KAMR. The district has reportedly been considering the idea for years –- much before the Sandy Hook massacre.

The district’s superintendent told the outlet that surveys revealed overwhelming support for the idea from teachers and staff. And while enthusiasm for the measure was slightly less strong among parents, a majority still supported the idea.

The district held a public forum to consider the idea last week. Although nearly 20 people attended the forum, only three speakers expressed disapproval of the measure, the Pampa News reports.

“One of the reasons we held this public forum was in hopes that the citizens would give us a concern or scenario that we haven’t thought of yet,” Larry Caitlin, vice president of the CISD school board, told the Pampa News. “But mainly the concerns were the location of the gun, on the staff members’ bodies or in a safe, and if a student gets their hands on it.”

CISD is not the first school district to vote to arm teachers in Texas. Some teachers in the Harrold Independent School district have been allowed to do such since 2008. According to the ABC, they were the first district with such a policy and enacted it in response to the Virginia Tech shootings.

"The idea that we have moved into a society that the police have to do everything is ridiculous," David Thweatt, the district's superintendent said. "Active shooters know where they are going. If your school is known to have a policy in place where people are protecting children with deadly force, they are not coming to your school."

Since 2008, a slew of districts throughout Texas have imitated the policy.

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