Ted Kirsch, president of AFT Pennsylvania, released this statement today following a news conference by the National Rifle Association during which it suggested putting armed police officers in every school in the country.
“Samuel Gompers said it in the late 1800s, and it’s still true today. ‘We need more books not more guns.’ And we need more counselors and more social services, not an NRA campaign to turn our schools into armed camps. Remember, there was an armed sheriff’s deputy stationed at Columbine High School on April 20, 1999, who exchanged fire with one of the shooters, and still that tragedy was not averted. There are many, many resources we need in our schools. Guns are not among them. With Newtown families still mourning the deaths of their children and teachers, the NRA’s comments today were completely inappropriate.”