AUGUSTA — The president of the Maine Education Association said the union representing teachers has many reasons to oppose guns in classrooms. 

“We hear stories about accidents that happen,” said Lois Kilby-Chesley. “This morning a Utah teacher had a gun and holster.” The teacher shot his own foot.

Earlier this month in another state a third-grader came up to take a security officer’s gun “and shot a hole through the floor,” Kilby-Chesley said. “Accidents happen. We can’t take the chance.”

Responding to President Donald Trump’s suggestion that teachers who are skilled with guns be armed and given a bonus, she said, “It would be voluntary.” There are teachers who feel comfortable with guns and have had training, she said. “But having guns in classrooms is significantly different from using a gun at target practice.”

Also, Kilby-Chesley said, in an active-shooter-in-school situation, there is chaos. “If an armed teacher pulled out a gun to try to solve a problem, another teacher sees that, or a police officer sees that. Who’s to say they don’t think the person who just unholstered the gun is the shooter?”

Anyone firing a gun in a school to protect students should be a professionally trained security or police officer, she said. “That’s what they’re trained to do. They know what to look for. We are supportive of their jobs.”

— Bonnie Washuk