Why Are Teachers’ Unions So Opposed to Armed Staff

Like most Americans, I’m sick of seeing shootings at schools. From some gang-banger wannabe to a twit trying to commit the worst atrocity since Virginia Tech, the truth is that the cost to our children is very real. That’s especially true with the media overhyping the frequency of these incidents in profound ways.

But one of the groups most likely to be impacted, besides students, is teachers. These are people who, at least in theory, can be trusted to do just about anything they need to. While it shouldn’t be part of their job to carry guns in order to protect students, those who are so inclined should be able to.

What has always struck me as a little bizarre isn’t so much that the teachers’ unions aren’t pushing for armed staff. They tend to be anti-gun, so that sort of fits.

No, what gets me is the outright opposition to it.

A 2018 survey of teachers by the NEA found that there’s real opposition to the idea.

But seven in ten NEA members say arming school personnel would be ineffective at preventing gun violence in schools. Among all members, 82% say they would not carry a gun in school. Even among members who own guns, two thirds—63%—say they would not agree to be armed in school.

What’s more, two-thirds of educators say they would feel less safe if school personnel were armed.

This has always struck me as a little bizarre.

I can get the 82 percent who don’t want to carry just fine. It’s not for everyone, and many of those are going to be clustered in professions like teaching.

It’s the two-thirds who would feel less safe if their coworkers were armed.

Now, why is that? These are colleagues. People they see every day. The people they interact with and who they see interact with children. Why would you be concerned about these particular people being armed?

Why would the teachers’ unions as a whole?

The only answer I’ve been able to come up with is more than a little concerning, while also making me really glad we homeschool in our house.

Back in May, I spent a lot of time looking at schools and various acts of misconduct. From teachers engaging in sexual misconduct with students to covering up student-on-student acts of sexual assault and sexual harassment, it became a major focus for me. It’s still a massive concern as it’s way too common in our schools.

I wrote about the real risk to our children in schools. I juxtaposed it with the number of students “impacted” by school shootings to show which problem is more significant. At the risk of quoting myself:

Well, sure, let’s look at some statistics for a moment.

In recent years, 51 in 100,000 students will experience a school shooting, or 0.051 percent.

But a 2023 report found that 11.7 percent of recent graduates report some incident of sexual misconduct by a teacher.

I mean, even if gun control could do everything proponents promise–which it never does, mind you–we’d still provide more safety for our kids by removing teachers from the classroom.

And let’s understand that “experience” here is as broad as “heard a gunshot clear across campus.”

There’s a real problem there.

Yet that’s not the entire crux of what I’m talking about here. 

No, what I can’t help but recognize here is that perhaps many of those teachers who feel less safe because their work friends carry guns feel that way because they know better than to trust their colleagues. For all the solidarity among teachers when it comes to things like pay and policy, many know that at least some of their coworkers are untrustworthy and are terrified not about the idea in general, so much as they know that one guy or gal that absolutely cannot be trusted.

The teachers’ unions don’t exist to promote education or to work toward making sure our kids have a good experience at school. They exist to look out for teachers and teachers alone. That’s their membership, and that’s who they answer to.

So is the reason the teachers’ unions are so hostile toward armed staff because they know that at least some staff members are a threat to their colleagues and the students? Do they know someone who will likely kill another over some mild altercation?

I mean, the most…aggressive teacher I had never touched a kid, but he did later stand trial for murdering his father, so I can’t rule out that they know something we don’t know. (For the record, he was acquitted, but a lot of us never felt he was innocent.)

Is that the problem?

I honestly don’t know, but I do know that at least some of these educators know that there are people in their school who are untrustworthy. They know there are people who are a danger to students in some capacity or another.

Of course, this is pure speculation, but it seems to fit what we do know. I’m sure it’s not universal, as some just don’t like guns at all, but I can’t help but wonder just how many would be fine with some carrying firearms, just not that one guy who spends a little too much time “tutoring” the cheerleaders or something.

Still, it’s worth forcing them to answer.

Editor’s Note: The radical left that makes up teachers’ unions will stop at nothing to enact their radical gun control agenda and strip us of our Second Amendment rights.

Help us continue to report on and expose the Democrats’ gun control policies and schemes. Join Bearing Arms VIP and use promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your VIP membership.