South Carolina Rep. Steven Long: Armed Teachers Could Stop ‘Mentally Defective Cowards’

South Carolina State Rep. Steven Long (R-37) says armed teachers could stop “mentally defective cowards” before school children are harmed.

In a Monday press release, Long said:

We must do everything we can to ensure the safety of children in schools, both K-12 and our higher education institutions. Allowing teachers or school staff members to carry is the most efficient and most effective way to do this. This is entirely voluntary. We aren’t forcing teachers who don’t feel comfortable with a gun to carry. Not every teacher will want to carry or needs to carry, but for those who are willing and able, we need to allow them this protection. I’m open to a discussion regarding the specifics of a program that allows teachers to carry, but it is undeniable that we must take action on this issue.

He added:

The criminals who shoot up schools are mentally defective cowards. A shocking 98% of mass shootings occur in gun-free zones. The killers know that they are unlikely to encounter armed resistance and be stopped and they’re going after defenseless targets. Well, not anymore. By allowing trained adults to defend the students, we will send the message to those deranged psychotic degenerates that children are our top priority and we will protect them.

Because he believes arming teachers is important, Long is hosting a drawing to give a gun to a K-12 teacher or school staff member and a college faculty member. The giveaway also covers the necessary training to enable the winners to get their concealed permits.

Long’s efforts to arm teachers, thereby saving students from “mentally defective cowards,” is reminiscent of President Trump’s appraisal that armed teachers could “fire back if a savage sicko came to a school with bad intentions.” He noted that first responders are “5 to 8 minutes away” when a school shooting occurs, but armed teachers could take action “immediately.”

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News, the host of the Breitbart podcast Bullets with AWR Hawkins, 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. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. Sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.