A controversial new law in Iowa makes it easier for teachers in public school buildings to carry a firearm.

District 24 Senator Jesse Green says teachers have been allowed to carry firearms before, but an issue that has prevented school districts from doing so is about insurance. He states the new law addresses that portion and allows teachers to be immune from insurance, if they go through training to carry firearms in school buildings. 

Greene County Sheriff Jack Williams doesn’t care for the new law and tells Raccoon Valley Radio he has several issues with the idea of teachers carrying firearms in schools. One concern is holding teachers to the same standards as law enforcement before educators can carry a firearm on school grounds. Williams points out the other problem he has is that in small communities it doesn’t take long for students to figure out what teachers are carrying a firearm.

“Which is essentially, for an active shooter, painting a target on their back, which just makes it that much more dangerous when an active shooter first starts, you’ll have kids running everywhere. And as soon as you start shooting at the bad guy there’s going to be more innocence in the way, which makes it more dangerous for everybody.”    

Senator Jesse Green voted for the legislation, but Sheriff Williams says he was never contacted by Senator Green or House District 47 Representative Carter Nordman while the bill was going through the legislature. When asked if he had talked to any local law enforcement in Greene County, Green says this topic is so complex, he felt lawmakers needed to push on this bill, especially after the tragedy in Perry earlier this year.

“We can’t just keep waiting, waiting and kicking the can down the road, where we have potentially some resources within these schools and some teachers that are capable of meeting some of these needs. And so we’re trying to make sure we do everything possible to protect our students in anyway possible so that this situation doesn’t happen again.”   

Green says that over half of the states in the country allow teachers to carry firearms by utilizing local control to do so. He states this bill allows the Department of Public Safety to develop the training program for teachers to carry a firearm and they have been assured that it will be equal to or greater than a first year officer’s training. If a teacher passes and the school district moves forward, that teacher can be immune from insurance.

However, Green notes that because this law is another tool in the toolbox for public schools to use, school districts are not required to do it.