In a segment on CNN this Thursday, Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones faced off with Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School teacher Sarah Lerner. Jones is an ardent NRA supporter who believes teachers should be armed as a response to mass shooting, and Lerner thinks that idea is ridiculous.
CNN anchor Jim Sciutto started out the discussion by asking Jones his thoughts on President Trump’s suggestion that teachers be armed — a notion Jones agrees with.
“Teachers should be trained at least to see a gun, know what it looks like, what it sounds like, what to do — they should be trained in first-aid,” Jones said.
Sciutto then brought up the armed officer that was present at Stoneman Douglas when 19-year-old shooter Nikolas Cruz began his rampage. The officer, identified as Deputy Scot Peterson, reportedly stayed outside the building as the shooting took place and did not confront the killer. He has since resigned. Sciutti asked Jones if Peterson’s alleged failure to act was indicative of a flaw in the logic of arming teachers.
Hi, I'm a teacher. I don't want a gun. I could use some more dry erase markers. Thanks for your time.
— Jacob Leland (@mrdrleland) February 22, 2018
“If the armed, trained, uniformed security guard at Parkland didn’t do it, why would we expect teachers like Sarah or others to be that frontline responder?” Sciutto asked.
Jones said that although he doesn’t expect people like Lerner to be putting themselves in the thick of mass shootings, some armed teachers at the school would have been a good insurance policy against a hesitant security guard.
Later in the segment, Lerner scoffed at the idea of armed teachers, including an idea floated by Trump that teachers could get bonuses for taking up firearms training.
“I’m not even given adequate money to buy supplies for my classroom,” Lerner said. “But now if I choose to carry a gun, a gun will be provided for me and I will be given a bonus?”
Watch the exchange below:
[RawStory] Featured image via screen grab
