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SALT LAKE CITY — Gun safety advocates and Utahns impacted by gun violence are calling on Gov. Spencer Cox to veto a bill they say would incentivize teachers to carry firearms in schools by providing protection from liability if they participate in annual safety training.
Apparently referencing Cox's threat last year to veto bills that don't receive proper vetting before the public, the Gun Violence Prevent Center of Utah asked the governor to veto HB119, which it says "was rushed through the Legislature within the last week of the session," and "received less than 15 minutes in a House committee hearing."
The gun violence policy organization hosted a press conference at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on Monday, along with several stakeholders, including Sinia Maile of West Valley City, whose second cousin and his friend were killed in a shooting outside of Hunter High School in 2022.
"I speak to you all as both a product and a former staff of the Utah public education system, a voice from the generation of mass school shootings and a sister to Paul Tahi and Tivani Lopati — two young men who were shot and killed during school hours near Hunter High School on Jan. 13, 2022," Maile said. "My brothers have not been the first in our community to fall victim to gun violence, and they will not be the last if we continue to enact dangerous and senseless laws like these."
HB119, which was approved by lawmakers last week, creates the Educator-Protector Program where teachers who receive a concealed carry permit and undergo annual training can securely carry a firearm to school to respond to an intruder or active shooter.
The bill was sponsored by Rep. Tim Jimenez, a first-term Republican from Tooele, with Sen. David Hinkins, R-Ferron, serving as the floor sponsor.
Under the bill, annual training for teachers would consist of training "on how to defend a classroom against active threats emphasizing the teacher's role in stationary defense; and on the safe loading, unloading, storage, and carrying of firearms in a school setting."
HB119 "piggybacks" off of HB84, another school safety measure that would allow trained teachers to respond to school shootings, Jimenez said.
Jimenez described the bill as a "strictly defensive bill" during a hearing before the House Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee on Feb. 22.
"Ultimately, the crux of the way this is structured: Teachers who wish to get tactical training can approach (the Department of Public Safety)" that will handle the funding of the training, which will be done by local sheriff's offices or police forces, Jimenez said. "Along with ... if the teacher does choose to get this training, then they will be indemnified as long as they are acting in good faith and without gross negligence."
Brian Peterson, a sixth-grade teacher, spoke in support of the bill, saying "we have a lot of teachers who can carry and the training is invaluable. Knowing how to defend your classroom — whether it's with a weapon or an improvised weapon — is what teachers need. We need a way to protect our kids and protect ourselves."
But several of those who urged the governor to veto the bill argued that having more firearms in schools will make them less safe for students — especially since the bill shields teachers from liability in the event they accidentally shoot a student while responding to a threat.
"HB119 is loaded with faulty assumptions and equally bad provisions," said Stan Holmes, a retired public high school teacher. "It wrongly assumed that in a crisis, teachers with a firearm or firearms will use them at least as responsibly as trained law enforcement officers."
Holmes noted that neither the concealed carry class nor the annual teacher training required any live-fire experience, saying, "More guns in classrooms do not make students safer; rather, the danger to students is increased."
Opponents of the bill also drew contrast to bills passed during this and previous sessions — including bills to restrict so-called "sensitive materials" in classrooms — they say show a lack of trust in teachers.
"The GOP supermajority has clearly indicated they do not trust our public school teachers to actually teach," Jeff Merchant, executive director of Alliance for a Better Utah, stated. "Just this session, teachers have been accused of indoctrinating students and distributing pornography, despite years of professional training for their jobs. Now these same lawmakers are expecting teachers to also act as sharpshooters, despite only receiving a couple of hours of training, while our highly capable law enforcement officers need years of professional training to properly respond to school shooting situations."
He also asked Cox to veto the bill, saying the "ongoing quest to add more and more guns to our schools is only going to end in disaster."
HB119 passed the Senate 19-6 and the House 53-13. Cox has until March 21 to veto or sign bills. If the governor doesn't veto HB119, it will go into effect on May 1.
