Donald Trump

New Jersey's Biggest Teachers' Union Opposes Arming Teachers

What to Know

  • New Jersey's biggest teacher's union says it's "adamantly opposed" to suggestions that teachers should carry guns
  • New Jersey Education Association President Marie Blistan called on politicians to "stop cowering before the gun lobby"
  • The United Federation of Teachers has also voiced its opposition to arming teachers.

New Jersey's biggest teacher's union says it's "adamantly opposed" to suggestions that teachers should carry guns as a deterrent to school attacks.

New Jersey Education Association President Marie Blistan announced the group's stance in a statement issued Thursday.

She said that turning schools into arsenals will put children and staff more at risk of becoming victims of gun violence. She also said schools should be safe havens for learning and development, not become armed fortresses of fear.

Blistan also called on politicians to "stop cowering before the gun lobby."

"For years, the gun lobby has argued that the solution to gun violence is to have more guns. For years, the United States has suffered levels of gun violence unknown almost anywhere else in the world. We must reject the failed ideology of guns as a solution when, in truth, they are the problem," Blistan said.

President Donald Trump says he believes the proposal of arming teachers could be a possible deterrent and could "solve the problem" of school shootings, by making potential attackers think twice. He has noted that some airline pilots have carried concealed weapons since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

The United Federation of Teachers has also voiced its opposition to arming teachers.

“Teachers should be marking papers, not being trained in marksmanship,” Michael Mulgrew, president of the United Federation of Teachers, said in a statement. “We need to be preparing our lessons, not learning how to reload a gun.”

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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