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After Uvalde shooting, debate to arm teachers and school administrators renewed

This year alone, there have been 27 school shootings, according to Education Week.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — After a mass shooting that claimed innocent lives in Uvalde, many people are asking what can be done to stop this from happening ever again.

This year alone, there have been 27 school shootings, according to Education Week.

"It should be a wake-up call to everybody in our country that common-sense gun laws are necessary," said Scott DiMauro, president of the Ohio Education Association.

Some even question if guns should be carried in schools. And if so, by whom?

"The schools are the ones that have custody of our kids. They have a legal and moral obligation to protect those in their care," said Jim Irvine, co-founder of Faster Saves Lives. "We're not replacing firefighters or doctors. We're keeping people alive until we can get those people in the building to take over from us."

"Faster Saves Lives" calls for firearms in schools for trained staff and medical supplies to treat victims, but the program is stalled by legislation in the Ohio Statehouse.

House Bill 99 would lower the minimum training for school personnel who carry firearms from about 728 hours to 18 hours of general training and two hours of handgun training.

HB 99 which is pending in the legislature, is opposed both by education groups and by law enforcement groups because it significantly waters down those training requirements and makes our schools less safe rather than safer." DiMauro said.

He's against putting the responsibility on teachers. "Asking teachers to perform a dual role of being armed security guards and also providing an education to our students is not the answer."

Irvine said that training is critical.

"Most school staff don't want anything to do with this. And that's fine. There are lots of other rules. But if you're carrying a gun, you have got to be properly trained," he said.

One thing DiMauro and Irvine can agree on is that a mass shooting should never happen again.

"One of these shootings is one too many," DiMauro said.

"It's a scar that will never heal," said Irvine.

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