Interest, opposition grow for teacher gun training in Colorado

In the second year of gun training for Colorado teachers to defend against active shooters, more people are seeking the training, and more people are also expressing opposition to the concept.

Following the first three-day class of 20 people last summer in Weld County, three classes — each with 24 teachers, administrators and staff — are gathering in Adams County. The first two were held in June and the third will be held in August.

The exact location of the classes is being kept confidential.

FASTER Colorado is conducting and providing the training. The instructors are current law enforcement officers who require trainees to meet the same standards as police officers and deputies to handle weapons and use deadly force when necessary.

“I think the hardest part for [trainees] is trying to come to terms with whether they can shoot someone, and understandably so,” said Sgt. Graham Dunne, a FASTER instructor. “But part of the training is changing that mindset to be aggressive and decisive in confronting an active shooter.”

Dunne said the average school shooting lasts no longer than two minutes, with eight people killed.

Most of the trainees are from rural districts that don’t have armed resource officers or have longer response times by law enforcement in the event of an emergency.

But a trainee in the second class, John MacFarlane, is a teacher in Academy District 20, in heavier-populated Colorado Springs — a district that has yet to authorize teachers to carry guns in its schools.

“I can understand how you would think guns equals bad,” he said. “And I want those people to know that somebody like me who cares deeply about his students as if they were his own kids, I don’t ever want to be in a situation where I am helpless and I can’t save a life.”

Laura Carno, FASTER’s executive director, said the Valentine’s Day school shooting in Parkland, Florida, motivated more people to sign up for this year’s classes.

“We’re offering some different things this year,” she said. “Such as gun training in low-light conditions and using flashlights.”

Among the trainees is Evan Todd, a survivor of the 1999 massacre at Columbine High School — the first in a wave of Colorado school shootings.

“I thank these teachers and FASTER for what they’re doing,” he said. “Parents have the right to send their kids to school and get them back at the end of the day. By the time my son is in school, I want our nation’s kids to have the level of protection and security that they should have.”

This year’s training also addresses a common criticism of arming teachers in classrooms — that a student could take away someone’s gun.

In the weapons retention segment of the class, trainees learn how to resist someone who tries to seize a gun from a holster or sneaks up behind an adult.

In addition to target shooting and emergency medical training, trainees also used Adams County’s firearm simulator, where they react to a variety of scenarios involving someone with a gun on campus.

But many trainees still haven’t been authorized by their school districts to carry guns on campus, and trainees prefer to remain anonymous because of criticism from neighbors, citizens and even from within their own districts.

“Many school boards have no appetite for [arming teachers in schools],” Carno said. “Not only are they not interested in authorizing staff, they won’t even have the conversation.”

Still, some trainees said they want to complete the training to be ready if and when they’re authorized, and to convince their districts of the need for having armed school personnel.

“I’m the gal who’s going to die for their kids if that’s what it takes,” said a trainee from Garfield County.

A trainee from Jefferson County said his district has had several school shootings.

“I want to be there to protect the kids,” he said. “But I don’t think arming teachers is going to happen in my district.”

Some of the resistance to arming teachers comes from perhaps an unexpected source — the Colorado Education Association, the state’s largest teachers union.

“We are so underfunded for school funding in our state, we actually need to put our resources and energy into funding things that might prevent school shootings, things like mental health support, more school counselors, social workers, and psychologists,” said Amie Baca-Oehlert, president of the CEA.

Public opinion about arming teachers remains mixed.

“I know lots of people don’t like guns,” said Michael Livesey of Colorado Springs. “But bad guys do and bad guys are always going to have them. Why not let the good guys have them?”

“I am not for guns,” said Cathy Patton of Colorado Springs. “I feel like the more guns there are, the more shootings there are. Why don’t they use metal detectors to keep guns out of schools?”

Carno said 25 school districts in Colorado authorize school personnel to be armed, and 12 other districts are in the process of authorizing personnel. Hanover, in El Paso County, is the only local school district known to allow armed teachers.

“Hanover is the only district that has made itself public,” she said. “There may be others that we don’t know about. It’s a personnel matter for school districts, so they aren’t required to make it public.”

The classes cost $1,000 for each person, but donations have covered the cost for many trainees.