Ohio wants to turn mobile homes into shoot houses for school teacher firearm training

Columbus, Ohio - The Ohio state government wants to buy mobile homes for public school teachers to undergo firearm training in preparation for active shooter threats.

Ohioans protest for stricter firearm laws to end gun violence outside the state Capitol in Columbus.
Ohioans protest for stricter firearm laws to end gun violence outside the state Capitol in Columbus.  © IMAGO / USA TODAY Network

The Ohio Controlling Board last month approved the purchase of two shoot houses to train teachers and staff approved to carry guns to school.

"Currently, we have movable canvas walls that can be configured to simulate responding to an active shooter in a school, like walking down a hallway, but there are limits," Ohio Department of Public Safety spokesperson Jay Carey said, according to The Guardian.

Carey said the shoot houses "offer several advantages like doors and windows so armed school staff can practice opening doors and looking through windows just like they would find in a school."

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"The more realistic we can make the training, the better prepared armed school staff will be to respond to an active shooter," he added.

Currently, public school employees in Ohio may carry guns so long as they receive 24 hours of training beforehand – down from the previously required 700 hours. The new regulations were approved in 2022, following the Uvalde, Texas, school shooting which left 19 students and two teachers dead.

A 2019 study by Everytown for Gun Safety found that arming teachers actually increases the risk of gun violence at schools, while a 2018 Gallup poll – taken shortly after the Parkland, Florida, school massacre – determined that 73% of teachers oppose carrying guns on campus.

Cover photo: IMAGO / USA TODAY Network

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