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Should teachers be armed with guns?

By Glenn Counts, wsoctv.com
By Glenn Counts, wsoctv.com

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Teenagers across the country are protesting that schools aren’t safe.

The voices are so loud that the White House is listening, but Wednesday, President Donald Trump suggested that teachers arm themselves to protect their students.

Gun store owner Larry Hyatt agrees with Trump’s assessment.

"I think we should have a sign in front of every school that says, ‘We have trained armed staff to protect our children,’ I think that's the message we need to send to these crazy people,” he said.

Mark Jewel, president of the North Carolina Association of Educators, said the biggest problem is that access to weapons is too easy.

"Giving a teacher a weapon to carry around is not the answer and it's very concerning to many teachers across North Carolina, across the country,” Jewel said.

Jewel said the voices of the students is important, especially after students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, have spoken out on gun control days after a gunman open fired and killed 17 people.

"We've got to listen to the voices of the students right now,” Jewel said.

Channel 9 asked Charlotte-Mecklenburg police Chief Kerr Putney about the issue, but he didn’t want to spark a debate on gun control.

Putney did say he doesn’t think more guns are the answer.

"I want it to be, we take some preventive measures to keep guns out of schools period, but for your school resource officer, I'd like to see nobody else with a gun,” Putney said.

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