Indiana Legislature Approves Bill To Fund Teacher Firearm Training With Taxpayer Dollars

The Indiana Senate passed a bill on Tuesday that would use taxpayer dollars to fund voluntary firearm training for teachers.

In a 42-8 vote, the state Senate approved House Bill 1177, which would create a state-funded handgun training for teachers and faculty in the event of a school shooting. Two Senate Democrats voted along with Republicans in support of the bill on Tuesday and the legislation passed the state House in February in a 71-24 vote.

“I’m not wanting teachers or staff to be SWAT members and get aggressive and go out there and go into offense and hunt them, you know, I can’t put myself in their situation, and heaven forbid that ever does happen,” Republican state Rep. Jim Lucas said after the bill cleared the state House, according to WNDU News. “But what this is, it teaches them proper firearm safety, weapon retention is a big thing, a lot of range time, you know, scenario-based training.”

Under the legislation, an optional 40-hour training would be established and in the event of a shooting, schools can apply to the state for funding of counseling costs for students and faculty.

“How is 40 hours of training going to prepare you to shoot a kid in your classroom?” Democrat state Sen. Andrea Hunley told the Associated Press. “This is not going to stop school shootings.”

The legislation comes after several shootings throughout the country which has led to calls for more gun control, including from President Joe Biden, while many Republicans push to arm school faculty and staff. In March, three students and three adults were killed after an active female shooter entered a private Christian school in Nashville, Tennessee. In Indiana, a gunman who opened fire in a shopping mall was shot down by 22-year-old Elisjsha Dicken who was carrying.

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