Some Oregon Teachers Getting Free Gun Training

In the wake of the shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, we've seen Republicans demand greater security and Democrats make vague calls for "commonsense" gun laws. There will probably be multiple bills introduced in the Oregon legislature next session to add to the state's already restrictive laws, as well as efforts to allow for an armed response on all public school campuses.

At the moment, Oregon law allows for districts to prohibit lawful carry on campuses, but it's not required. And in the Rogue Valley region of the state, a company called Rogue Protection Group is now offering free concealed carry training to school employees. Dustin Hagglund, who owns Rogue Protection Group, says an anonymous donor stepped up and donated enough money to pay for 10 employees to get trained, but more funding is possible if the interest is there. 

The instruction uses Rogue Protection Group’s standard concealed carry curriculum, which features one-on-one range time, instruction on safe storage, and lessons on defensive decision-making. “We don’t care where at the school they work, whether they’re a teacher, a janitor, anything like that,” Haglund said. “As long as they’re there working for the school, that’s all that matters to us. It’s just getting that education closer to the schools, however it works.”

While educators throughout the Rogue Valley are eligible for the free instruction, several school districts in the area have policies that explicitly prohibit staff members from being armed on campus. The Medford School District, for instance, says that weapons are not tolerated on campus, and the Ashland School District has prohibited lawful carry on campus grounds for both staff and visitors as well. 

There are other school districts in the Rogue Valley, though, that don't appear to have outright prohibitions, at least that I've been able to find. So, some educators might actually be able to put this training to work while they're on the job. 

Kudos to the anonymous donor who opened up their wallet and funded this training session. I hope that Hagglund is overwhelmed by educators and staff members reaching out to inquire about taking part, especially those who are working in districts where staff members and the general public are allowed to carry on campus so long as they possess a valid carry license. 

The odds of any of these educators having to use a firearm to protect students and fellow staff members are pretty low, but they're not non-existent. And if, God forbid, any of the schools in the Rogue Valley are targeted by a deranged killer, I'd much rather that person be confronted by an armed staffer who's already on campus instead of waiting for police to arrive or for an armed resident to intervene, as was the case at Silver Rail Elementary. 

But even the best training in the world won't do much good if school employees are prohibited from carrying a firearm on the job. That's why I'd also like to see Oregon lawmakers revisit the law that allows school districts to turn their campuses into so-called gun-free zones. I know any effort to do so will face fierce opposition from the teachers unions and gun control lobby, but we already know that someone intent on murdering school kids doesn't care if they're violating a law about carrying a gun onto school grounds. 

Even if every district allows for armed staff, most employees will choose to remain unarmed. I'm okay with that. Folks who aren't comfortable carrying shouldn't be pressured into doing so. But I bet in every district there are still plenty of employees who are willing to serve as a first line of defense in case of a targeted attack, and districts shouldn't automatically reject the possibility of an armed response from someone who's already on campus when seconds can mean the difference between life and death.

The tragedy in Bend showed us both the extraordinary courage of an armed citizen and the terrible damage a killer can inflict before someone is able to stop him. We can't guarantee that another attack won't happen. In fact, we can be pretty sure that at some point, another cowardly killer will target another school. That's all the more reason to give willing, trained, and responsible school employees a fighting chance to stop that person before more innocent lives are lost.

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