Poll: Most Americans believe training, arming teachers would make American schools safer

A recent poll has revealed that a majority of Americans believe that having properly trained, armed teachers would make schools safer, not more dangerous for students.

The Trafalgar Group and Convention of States Action (COSA) poll – conducted just days after a deadly school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, left 19 children and two adults dead – found that a majority of voters support arming teachers in schools across the nation, the Daily Wire reported.

According to the data, 57.5% of those polled said preventing properly trained teachers from carrying firearms in schools makes schools somewhat or much more dangerous, with just 30.8% saying the opposite.

“No shooting at a school is going to be stopped by gun control laws. They are going to be stopped by a variety of fairly simple on-site measures, including arming law-abiding citizens–in this case specifically teachers–and empowering them to protect our children, schools, and communities,” COSA President Mark Meckler said in a statement. “A majority of voters see this clearly, despite the relentless propaganda by people who want to confiscate the guns of law-abiding citizens.”

“Self-defense is a bedrock of this Republic and our Constitution. The Founders were clear that defending those we love is the responsibility of the citizen first. So many deaths have been prevented by armed citizens, so why would we question the voluntary training and arming of teachers to protect those we love and care for the most?” he added.

The poll further revealed that support for armed teachers exists on both sides of the political isle with 67.5% of Republicans and 48.2% of Democrats telling pollsters that armed and trained teachers would serve to make schools less dangerous.

Although progressives have long railed against the thought of arming teachers, the tragic massacre in Uvalde may have served to sway popular opinion.

Following the shooting, the Department of Justice announced it will conduct an investigation into the police response to the attack.

"At the request of Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin, the U.S. Department of Justice will conduct a Critical Incident Review of the law enforcement response to the mass shooting," the agency said in a press release.

The probe comes after it was revealed that the suspected gunman, 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, was inside of the school for about 80 minutes before a Border Patrol agent entered the classroom and killed him. 

Texas Department of Public Safety Commissioner Steven McCraw said during a press conference Friday that law enforcement's delayed response was "the wrong decision. Period. There is no excuse for that."

Outrage also spread online last week after a parent said US Marshals arrested her for urging law enforcement to enter the school during the massacre.