During her Thursday campaign speech to the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), presumptive Democrat presidential candidate Kamala Harris mocked “extremists” who want to allow teachers to be armed for classroom defense.
Harris looked at the AFT audience and said, “While you try to create safe and welcoming places where our children can learn, extremists attack our freedom to live safe from gun violence. They have the nerve to tell teachers to strap on a gun in the classroom.”
On December 13, 2018, nearly 10 months to the day after the Parkland high school shooting occurred, Breitbart News reported that the commission investigating the shooting recommended teachers be allowed to be armed for classroom defense. The Associated Press noted that the commission wanted to see school districts allow “teachers who volunteer and undergo extensive background checks and training…to carry concealed guns on campus to stop future shootings.”
On November 21 of that year Breitbart News pointed out that the commission’s lead investigator, Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri, said the investigation into the shooting had changed his views on arming teachers — he went from opposing it to supporting it. He noted, “People need to keep an open mind to it as the reality is that if someone else in that school had a gun it could have saved kids’ lives.”
Gualtieri’s observation is poignant in light of the fact that the Parkland shooter paused five times to reload during his attack, but no teachers or staff were armed to take advantage of the lull in the attack.
Regardless of the commission’s findings and Sheriff’s Gualtieri’s knowledge and expertise on the subject, Kamala Harris is mocking the idea of teachers being armed to protect children in the classroom.
It should be noted that no teachers were armed at Sandy Hook Elementary School when an attacker opened fire on December 14, 2012, and took advantage of over nine minutes without armed resistance.
WATCH — Hawkins: Kamala Harris Remembers Sandy Hook Shooting with Gun Control Push
ahawkinsAWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio, a member of Gun Owners of America, and the director of global marketing for Lone Star Hunts. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal in 2010 and has a Ph.D. in Military History. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly at
