Granite District to teachers: Don't 'advertise' your concealed weapon


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SOUTH SALT LAKE — If teachers are going to carry concealed weapons, they shouldn't advertise it.

That's the message Granite School District administrators say they have been trying to push to employees since the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary tragedy.

"The reality is individuals who out themselves could potentially make themselves a target in an active shooter situation, particularly in a school environment," district spokesman Ben Horsley said.

A story on Monday's NBC's Nightly News featured Kasey Hansen, 27, a Granite School District aide who works with elementary, middle and high school students with hearing impairments.

Horsley said the segment was filmed several months ago. He said the district had not received any calls Tuesday from parents concerned about their children being in a classroom with an instructor who openly admits carrying a firearm.

The story also comes on the heels of a Sept. 11 incident at Westbrook Elementary School, 3451 W. 6200 South, also in the Granite School District, when sixth-grade teacher Michelle Ferguson-Montgomery was injured in her lower calf after her concealed weapon accidentally went off in a restroom before school.

Ferguson-Montgomery is a concealed weapons permit holder. As of Tuesday, she remained on paid administrative leave as police finish their investigation.


The reality is individuals who out themselves could potentially make themselves a target in an active shooter situation, particularly in a school environment.

–Ben Horsely, Granite School District


Since that incident, Horsley said the district has received calls from "less than five" parents of students at the school who were "concerned with her presence in the school." None of those parents had students in her class, he said.

A recent poll by UtahPolicy.com indicates that a majority of Utahns support teachers carrying concealed weapons in the classroom. The poll found that nearly two-thirds of Utahns think teachers should be allowed to carry concealed weapons in classrooms.

Utah state law allows teachers to carry concealed weapons in classrooms as long as the weapons are not visible and the teacher doesn't announce that he or she is carrying. Additionally, permit holders are not required to tell principals or district administrators that they have a permit or whether they are carrying on any particular day, creating a "don't ask/don't tell" concealed weapons policy.

Because of that, Horsley said the district has no idea how many of its teachers have concealed weapons permits.

Additionally, Granite policy requires teachers with concealed weapons permits to have possession and be in control of their weapon at all times. That means weapons cannot be stored in a purse, briefcase, desk drawer or closet — even if it has a lock — while at school.

In light of the recent attention on schoolteachers carrying concealed weapons, Horsley said it should be "common sense" for teachers not to tell anyone they're carrying.

"We shouldn't have to broadcast that," he said.

Contributing: Sandra Yi

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