Teachers Get Permission To Carry Guns In Class

Photo Credit: WND

It’s the law. Teachers in South Dakota can carry guns in the classroom. Republican Gov. Dennis Daugaard signed the bill today.

It appears to be the first state law in the nation that specifically allows teachers to carry firearms. Other states have gun laws that could make it possible for teachers to carry arms, but the South Dakota law is apparently the first to directly allow it.

The law does not force teachers to carry guns, and it does not require school districts to arm teachers. The South Dakota law also does not specify that guns carried by teachers must be concealed, but it does require a valid permit to carry a concealed weapon.

Similar bills introduced in about two dozen states since the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings in Newton, Conn., have stalled. Supporters of the South Dakota law say it is particularly important in a rural state where emergency responders may be many miles away from schools.

The bill’s main sponsor, Rep. Scott Craig, R-Rapid City, says rural districts do not have the money to hire full-time law officers, so they want to arm teachers or volunteers.

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