LOS ANGELES, June 23 (Xinhua) -- Some teachers in the U.S. state of Colorado will be allowed to carry guns in school after a three-day training in aims of protecting students and school staff from potential gun violence.
Seventeen teachers and administrators from five mostly rural counties of Colorado received intensive training course that ended Thursday. The course includes how to use firearms properly in the classroom and how to use trauma kits and tourniquets for those injured by knives or bullets. There are 20 more reportedly on the waiting list for the next training session.
Each participant already has a concealed handgun permit and is approved as a school security officer. As many as 20 Colorado school districts have designated teachers, administrators and other personnel as armed security, according to the Denver Post.
The training session is welcomed by school staff in rural areas because they could be far away from local law enforcement. Activist groups raised the money to cover the 1,000-dollars cost for each participant.
"We want to give them world-class training so they can stop active shooters at their school," Laura Carno, co-founder of Coloradans for Civil Liberties, was quoted as saying by the Denver Post.
But critics worry that keeping firearms in school on a daily basis could end up being more dangerous than taking preventative measures. They argued that it's even dangerous for law enforcement officers to open fire in a crowded classroom, let alone the teachers.
