Lt. Gov. Calls for Teacher Firearms Training

Texas Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst called Friday for state-funded, specialized firearms training for teachers and administrators to guard against school shootings.

Dewhurst, a Republican, said school districts would nominate who they wanted to carry weapons on campus. The training would be more extensive than what is currently required for a Texas concealed handgun license and include how to react in an active shooter situation.

“God forbid we should have an active shooter crisis in our schools,” Dewhurst said.

His proposal came in the aftermath of last month’s mass shooting at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn., where a gunman slaughtered 20 children and six adults before killing himself. Vice President Joe Biden has been meeting with groups this week to develop policy recommendations on how to prevent such tragedies.

The National Rifle Association has called for armed guards in every school in America and rejected any further restrictions on gun purchases or ownership.

Dewhurst said the eight hours of class instruction and two hours of shooting training for a concealed handgun license is “not sufficient” for school employees.

“It doesn’t teach how to respond emotionally and technically” to a potentially chaotic situation where young lives could be at stake, he said.

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