Penn State poll finds Pennsylvanians split on arming teachers
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Scott LaMar
Airdate: April 26th, 2023
There seems to be a mass shooting somewhere in this country often. Mass shootings at schools like Columbine, Sandy Hook Elementary, Parkland and Uvalde are part of the most deadly infamous crimes in the nation’s recent history.
Even though schools have taken protective measures like metal detectors, bulletproof glass, lockdowns, police and resource officers in schools and intruder drills, the shooters have still found ways to carry out their crimes.
One suggested remedy has been to arm teachers and other school personnel.
A recent Penn State Harrisburg Institute of State and Regional Affairs survey asked Pennsylvanians what they think.
Joining us on The Spark Wednesday was Emily Strohacker, an assistant professor of criminal justice in Penn State Harrisburg’s School of Public Affairs, who talked about one of the major findings of the poll, “we saw that more than half. So about 50% of Pennsylvanians supported teachers or other school officials with appropriate training, carrying guns at schools. And I do want to highlight that we were asking them with appropriate training, how do you feel.”
Strohacker said there were clear lines in the results,”We are seeing that men are more likely than women to support arming teachers. We are also seeing individuals who identify as Republican affiliates and those who report conservative political ideologies are more likely to support. We did find that educational attainment did matter in regards to support and actually. Individuals who had reported any college education were less likely to support arming teachers than those who reported no college at all.” Strohacker added those living in rural areas of Pennsylvania were also more likely to support arming teachers.
