Lawmakers consider letting Mississippi teachers carry guns

Published 2:26 pm Tuesday, February 27, 2018

 

JACKSON (AP) — Mississippi lawmakers have proposed letting teachers and other school employees with special training carry guns onto campus.

The Senate Judiciary A Committee on Tuesday amended House Bill 1083 , allowing public and private school administrators to establish school safety programs that would allow teachers to carry guns. School employees would have to receive 12 hours of training every two years from the Mississippi Department of Public Safety.

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Senate Judiciary A Committee Chairman Briggs Hopson, a Vicksburg Republican, says the bill responds to recent school shootings, including in Parkland, Florida, where 17 people were killed at a high school. President Donald Trump and the National Rifle Association support such measures.

Hopson’s measure also amends an underlying House bill to bar people with enhanced concealed carry permits from carrying guns into athletic events. That measure would allow people to challenge other gun restriction.