DeVos says states should consider armed teachers to combat school shootings

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said that states should consider arming teachers as a way to protect school campuses from shooters. 

“[Armed teachers] should be an option for states and communities to consider,” DeVos told CBS’s “60 Minutes” in an interview set to air Sunday.

DeVos said that not all teachers should carry firearms, but “for those who are capable this is one solution that can and should be considered.”

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“Every state and every community is going to address this issue in a different way,” she said.

DeVos’s comments came nearly a month after a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., left 17 people dead and 14 others injured. 

The attack reignited the national debate over gun control. President Trump originally advocated for some teachers to be armed following the attack and raised questions about gun-free zones at schools.

DeVos defended Trump’s suggestion after visiting the Parkland school earlier this week.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) on Friday signed into law a measure that would allow some school employees to carry concealed handguns. It provides for a voluntary training program. The bill also imposes a three-day waiting period on purchases of most long guns and raises the minimum age of buying a firearm in Florida from 18 to 21, among other things.