A former Hampton Roads teacher agrees with the National Rifle Association's call for armed officers in every classroom in our country.
Since the school shooting in Connecticut, there's been calls for a variety of new gun laws that include proposed bans on assault-weapons and high-capacity magazines.
On Friday, the NRA came out against gun control legislation.
"The only way to stop a monster from killing our kids is to be personally involved and invested in a plan of absolute protection. The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun," said Wayne LaPierre, the executive vice-president of the NRA.
But others on Capitol Hill, like California Senator Dianne Fienstein (D), want to introduce stricter gun laws. "The NRA's blanket call to arm our schools is really nothing more than a distraction, it's a delay tactic. It's a distraction from the availability of military-style assault weapons on our streets, in our schools, used at malls, used at workplaces, used at movie theaters. And they allow for much death and destruction," Feinstein said at a news conference.
The store manager of Bob's Gun Shop, Steve Dowdy, used to be a teacher. He believes gun control legislation will not prevent another tragedy but an armed officer might.
"It's the first common sense idea I've heard, I think through all of this, it's been a theme that we've heard even before Columbine," said Dowdy. The former teacher and now firearms instructor also would like teachers to have the choice to bring a weapon work.
"I don't think you should put a gun in somebody's hand if you don't want it there, but I have talked to a couple of teachers since this has happened, I think they would like to see that as a possibility," Dowdy said.
Several Republicans, including Governor Bob McDonnell have come out in support of arming teachers.
But the Virginia Education Association disagrees, "it's a step in the wrong direction," was printed in a statement released to the media. The group is still considering its opinion on the NRA's call for armed officers at every school, especially since it has not been decided who will pay for it.
