We protect all kinds of important things with armed individuals. Banks have armed guards. So do our military bases. Even Congress has armed protection.

What often lacks armed protection, though, are school kids. While some schools have resource officers, that only goes so far as we saw in Parkland. Our children deserve to be protected by people with guns.

On the other hand, teachers are law-abiding adults. They should be permitted to carry guns to protect themselves. The fact that they would do so and, by extension, also protect our children is just a very pleasant bonus.

However, in far too many places, teachers don’t have that option.

In Indiana, though, they do. However, some are concerned that the lack of dedicated training is a problem, so now thanks to the state Senate, a teacher gun training program is one step closer to being a reality.

Indiana teachers who carry guns in schools would need to undergo annual training under a proposal advancing in the state Legislature.

The state Senate voted 42-7 Tuesday in favor of the bill that specifies a 40-hour training program for teachers volunteering to be armed, followed by 16 hours of additional training each year.

Republican Sen. Chris Garten of Charlestown urged support for the proposal because teachers can be armed with permission of their school districts but the state doesn’t have any training requirements.

And?

I’m sorry, but I don’t trust a bunch of lawmakers to understand what all is involved in carrying a firearm. While I think teachers should seek specific training for their needs–including scenario-based training from qualified instructors–I don’t want to see the law mandating it. This is a step backward for Indiana and shouldn’t happen.

Of course, one group of people are taking issue with the bill for a completely different reason

Members of the gun control group Moms Demand Action told a Senate committee last week that they opposed the bill as “normalizing” a high-risk strategy of arming teachers.

My knee-jerk reaction is that if Moms Demand Action hates it, it’s probably a good idea. However, that’s not a great way to look at it. They don’t want anyone carrying guns anywhere for anything. They probably didn’t even realize teachers could carry a gun in Indiana in the first place or else that would be the crux of their argument against the bill.

No, I’m not in favor of the bill, but only because it’s a step backward for Indiana teachers. If this was necessary for them to be able to carry guns, then so be it. That would be a move that would shift the needle toward liberty. I can deal with that, even if it’s not the best-case scenario. This, though, moves the needle in the wrong direction and that’s something we should never tolerate.

Our children deserve better. They deserve armed teachers who are preserving their lives and liberty. Unnecessary roadblocks like training requirements don’t make anyone any safer than they would be otherwise. It just lets lawmakers pat themselves on the back as they make themselves feel important.