Education Secretary Miguel Cardona is not mincing words about how he views proposals to arm teachers.
During an appearance on ABC’s “The View” Thursday, co-host Sunny Hostin said, “Secretary, you know, rather than regulate guns or, of course, ban AR-15s, some Republicans have proposed arming teachers to stop these shootings. My mother is a teacher.”
“In Ohio, the governor is preparing to sign a bill that would lower the training requirements for a teacher to carry a gun in the classroom from 700 hours to 24 hours. In your view, do you support teachers carrying guns in the classroom?” she asked.
Hostin referred to a bill in Ohio that would allow teachers to carry a firearm after they met a requirement of 24 hours of training.
Cardona responded, “Those are some of the stupidest proposals I’ve heard in all my time as an educator. So that’s my answer to that.”
The secretary’s response was met with applause from the audience.
Watch the video below:
Education Sec. Miguel Cardona says it's "stupid" to arm teachers because if a trained teacher takes maternity leave, you can't just give the substitute a gun. pic.twitter.com/xJKo5hfgdU
— Virginia Kruta (@VAKruta) June 9, 2022
“Listen, we need to make sure we’re doing sensible legislation, making sure our schoolhouses are safe as much as possible. But to say that we’re going to arm teachers to protect students, what happens when a teacher goes out on maternity leave? Are we going to give the substitute of the day a gun?” he continued.
Finally, Cardona responded, “What this shows, Sunny, is that some people are clueless when it comes to what’s happening in our schools, and it just shows further disrespect to a profession that has bent over backwards these last two years to protect students and give them an opportunity for an education.”
“I’m tired of hearing about these silly proposals that are doing more to lift up people’s national profile than protect children,” he added.
Cardona told lawmakers on Capitol Hill last week, “The solution of arming teachers, in my opinion, is further disrespect to a profession that’s already beleaguered and not feeling the support of so many folks.”
“We need to make sure we’re empowering our teachers to be successful at teaching our children,” he added.
Cardona’s comments come after a gunman opened fire in an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, killing 19 children and two adults.
The shooting in Uvalde and a mass shooting in Buffalo, New York, have sparked a renewed debate over gun control measures.
Some Republicans have called for arming teachers to respond to threats in schools.
And a recent Trafalgar Group poll, in conjunction with Convention of States Action, found that 57.5% of Americans said they believe arming teachers would make schools safer, as IJR reported. The Trafalgar Group’s poll results tend to lean toward conservative causes or candidates.
