skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Sunday, December 22, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Suspect held after woman set on fire in NY subway car dies; Trump threatens to take back Panama Canal over 'ridiculous' fees; A year of growth for juvenile diversion programs in SD; The ups and downs of combating rural grocery deserts in ND; Report: AZ one of eight Western states that could improve conservation policies.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Congress passes a last-minute budget stopgap. Trump's second-term tariffs could harm farmers, and future budget cuts could reduce much-needed federal programs.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Rural folks could soon be shut out of loans for natural disasters if Project 2025 has its way, Taos, New Mexico weighs options for its housing shortage, and the top states providing America's Christmas trees revealed.

Teachers Oppose Guns-in-School Bill

play audio
Play

Thursday, June 29, 2017   

HARRISBURG, Pa. -- A leading teachers' organization is strongly opposing a bill that would allow teachers to carry guns in schools.

Sponsors of Senate Bill 383 claim the bill would provide for the "protection and defense of pupils." But Dolores McCracken, vice president of the Pennsylvania State Education Association, said she finds the idea of school personnel carrying firearms inside school buildings to be very disconcerting.

"I don't know that they would be able to react properly in a crisis situation,” McCracken said. "Our goal is to keep guns out of school, not to put guns into schools."

The bill was passed by the state Senate on Wednesday, and returned to the House for consideration of amendments added by the Senate.

McCracken said an incident that occurred last year in a private school in Pennsylvania highlights the dangers of arming school personnel. In that case, a teacher left a loaded handgun in a bathroom that was accessible to both students and teachers.

"My understanding of that incident was that firearm sat in that bathroom for three hours before students went and reported it to the office. Fortunately, no one touched it,” she said.

SB 383 would allow school districts to create a "firearm safety plan" that would be shared with police but not be accessible to the public. Personnel carrying firearms would be required to be licensed to carry a concealed weapon.

But McCracken points out that teachers from Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, scene of a 2012 school shooting, wrote to the Senate in opposition to the bill, and a 2014 study by the Pennsylvania House Select Committee recommended against arming school personnel.

"We are not opposed to school resource officers, to law enforcement officers, being in schools, protecting our students and our staff,” McCracken said. "These people are trained and they know how to react in a crisis."

Gov. Tom Wolf has expressed opposition to the bill and is expected to veto it if it reaches his desk.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
A survey from the American Heart Association revealed 79% of respondents neglect their health during the holidays. Many say they find this time of year more stressful than income tax season.
(deagreez/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Holiday travel is in full swing and for many, so is the stress. The American Heart Association of Missouri has health tips for anyone with heart …


Health and Wellness

play sound

By Amy Felegy for Arts Midwest.Broadcast version by Mike Moen for Minnesota News Connection reporting for the Arts Midwest-Public News Service Collabo…

Health and Wellness

play sound

With Christmas less than a week away, experts are giving advice on how seniors and the community can fight against social isolation. A United Health …


A new University of Miami study has found buildings in Sunny Isles Beach and Surfside have been sinking by 2-8 centimeters between 2016 and 2023. (Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

When the Champlain Towers South collapsed in Surfside in 2021 taking 98 lives, it sent shock waves across South Florida. The tragedy has left …

Environment

play sound

Rural communities across Massachusetts are benefiting from state grants aimed at strengthening the local food supply and building climate resilience…

Dairy digesters remove methane from liquified animal waste. The gas can then be used to generate power. (Lance Cheung/USDA)

Environment

play sound

Three environmental nonprofits filed suit Wednesday against the California Air Resources Board to oppose the expansion of a program allowing oil and g…

Environment

play sound

New York lawmakers are focusing on electrifying municipal buildings. Buildings statewide make up 32% of New York's greenhouse gas emissions and …

Social Issues

play sound

North Dakota is expected to rejoin the debate over whether all school children, regardless of their family income, should have access to no-cost …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021