Teachers know that Donald Trump’s idea of arming them would be a bad idea. Gallup polled teachers on the proposal, and it’s really not a popular idea. Extremely unpopular:
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While 73% of teachers oppose special training to arm them in school, 20% strongly or somewhat favor it and 7% are neutral.
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Likewise, while 58% of teachers think arming them and their colleagues would make schools less safe, 20% think it would make schools safer and 22% do not think it would make any difference.
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Twenty-nine percent of teachers think that arming teachers would be very or somewhat effective in limiting the number of victims of a school shooting, while 71% say it would not be effective.
Just 18 percent of teachers said they would be willing to carry a gun; it’s beyond the abilities of opinion polling to know what percent of that 18 percent anyone else would agree should be armed.
Gallup’s results are similar to those of a recent poll from the National Education Association:
- An overwhelming majority, 82 percent, say they would not carry a gun in school, including sixty-three percent of NEA members who own a gun.
- Sixty-one percent of gun owners oppose arming teachers. Sixty-four percent of those in gun households oppose arming teachers.
- Two thirds, 64 percent, say they would feel less safe if teachers and other educators were allowed to carry guns.
- Educators do not believe that this proposal would be effective in preventing a school shooting. Seven in ten (69 percent) NEA members say arming school personnel would be ineffective at preventing gun violence in schools.
Not that politicians listen to teachers.