S.C. seeks to allow public school teachers to be armed

A new bill in South Carolina would allow for state public school teachers and other school employees to be armed.

Proposed in the wake of September's deadly Townville Elementary School shooting, the legislation would allow authorized school personnel to be armed, the Independent Mail reported. School officials would be permitted to require employees to receive proper training before carrying weapons on school grounds, the bill states.

Jacob Hall's Law, named after the 6-year-old who died from injuries sustained during the Townville shooting, was proposed last week by Republican state Sens. Kevin Bryant and Mike Gambrell.

But in the wake of the shooting, multiple bills have been proposed in South Carolina that could change gun laws for teachers.

As the Independent Mail reported, Republican state Rep. Jonathon Hill sponsored a similar bill to Jacob Hall's Law in the statehouse. That legislation would also require those who carry on school grounds to have a concealed weapons permit.

And state Rep. Joshua Putman has introduced the Jacob Hall School Protection Act, which would create a special public school concealed weapons permit. Educators and employees would have to attend a live shooter training from the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.

Putnam's legislation allows for school district officials to restrict what ammunition can be loaded in the firearms teachers have on school grounds. It would also allow for the firearms to be secured and kept in approved holsters.

As the Independent Mail noted, no officer was present at Townville Elementary when the shooting occurred. None of the legislation proposed would assign more officers at schools in South Carolina, but Jacob Hall's aunt previously said the family would fight for a law that would put armed officers at all of South Carolina's public schools.

Tom Dobbins, chairman of Anderson School District 4 school board, said Monday that he hoped legislators would find the money to hire more law enforcement officials instead of arm teachers as a "knee-jerk reaction."

He argued that arming teachers is just a "cheap way out" that could "end up with more fatalities," according to the Independent Mail.

Aside from Jacob Hall, two other students and a teacher were injured when a teenager opened fire on the school.

Last week, a school district in Colorado decided to allow its teachers and personnel to carry firearms.