Georgia Teachers Remain Unarmed Although Law Allows Them to Carry

On March 23, 2014, Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal (R) signed the Safe Carry Protection Act into law, thereby allowing school boards to arm teachers as a means of preventing a Sandy Hook-like attack. Yet over three years later, no school board has acted to allow their teachers to carry guns for defense of themselves and the children.

Days before Deal signed the Act, Breitbart News reported that it would recognize a church’s right to allow its congregants to be armed, allow Georgians with concealed carry permits to carry their guns in unsecured areas of airports, and expand carry privileges for teachers with concealed carry licenses.

The privileges for teachers remain stifled.

Breitbart News spoke with Georgia Carry executive director Jerry Henry about this, and he emphasized that the 2014 Act “allowed school boards to arm teachers who volunteered to be trained and carry concealed in their classroom and around the school as an extra layer of safety for the students.” He added, “To date, not one school board has taken the opportunity to utilize the extra layer of security.”

Henry explained that some schools have an “armed resource officer,” while others do not. The thought behind legalizing armed teachers was to provide a cheaper–and perhaps more practical method–for schools to add security.

He observed, “Some Texas schools have been arming their teachers since 2007 (Harrold, TX) and have experienced no problems from outside or inside the schools.”

On August 23, 2016, Breitbart News reported that a sign was posted outside the school in Claude, Texas, informing would-be attackers that the teachers inside were not trapped in a gun-free environment like the nation tragically witnessed at Virginia Tech University, Sandy Hook Elementary, and Umpqua Community College. According to News Channel 10, a clear message was emblazoned on the sign in “big red print”:

ATTENTION: PLEASE BE AWARE THAT THE STAFF AT CLAUDE ISD IS ARMED AND MAY USE WHATEVER FORCE NECESSARY TO PROTECT OUR STUDENTS.

Teachers in Georgia could be enjoying this same advantage.

AWR Hawkins is the Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and host of Bullets with AWR Hawkins, a Breitbart News podcast. He is also the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.