PAIGE ROUX: Indiana teachers to receive state-funded firearms training

The Indiana state legislature passed a bill this month that will allocate funding for training public school teachers how to properly use a firearm for self-defense and school safety.

Indiana will allow school teachers to participate in an optional, 40-hour firearm training that will teach them how to defend their classroom in the event of an active shooter. While state law already grants school districts the ability to allow teachers to be armed in classrooms, it did not provide training. This new bill will allocate state funding for training courses, as well as the costs of counseling for students and teachers in the event of a school shooting.

There was opposition to this bill, but ultimately it was passed with a 42-8 vote. State Senator Andrea Hunley, one of the few individuals who opposed the bill, stated, "How is 40 hours of training going to prepare you to shoot a kid in your classroom?" Given that Indiana already allows teachers to carry in classrooms, providing firearm competency training to these teachers can only increase safety standards in the classroom.

The passing of this bill comes just after the NRA hosted an event in Downtown Indianapolis that featured thousands of members and second-amendment activists. There, former President Donald Trump called for allowing teachers to be armed.

The sponsor of the bill, Senator Travis Holdman, expressed that he wants the training to be mandatory, "but we can’t get that as a General Assembly, because I have tried that for the last number of years." This piece originally appeared at TPUSA.