Just one choice can change a life. Just one gun has the opportunity to save a life; or end it. The choice of arming educators was made by Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds on April 19, when she signed in House File 2586.

House File 2586 can lead to many impacts, and even more outcomes.

House File 2586 is described by The Des Moines Register as a bill that “would allow teachers and other school employees to obtain permits to carry guns on school grounds and grant them qualified immunity for using reasonable force.”

House File 2586 holds a few conditions:

• Staff must complete a firearm safety course 
• Staff must complete a one-time training

However these conditions do not include:

• Background Checks for those carrying firearms
• A definition of “reasonable force” 

In a survey of sixty Atlantic High School students and staff, it was found that while the majority of people said that school staff carrying firearms would improve school safety, that same majority would not feel safer knowing that their teachers could be armed.
An anonymous participant in that survey said that “ I don’t think the way to solve school shootings is allowing any teacher to have a gun.” They furthered with,  “If the teachers are required to go through training before being allowed to carry a firearm then I would understand this but if it’s allowing any teacher to hold a weapon then this is a really bad idea.” However, this bill does not require background checks, which leads to students such as Genevieve McCalla stating how, “I would become scared of teachers.”

Other participants believe that this bill is a positive solution to a lingering issue. AHS sophomore Claire Shroder said that “I think it would make a good impact because in that just in case need of a firearm there would be one,” However she also said that “our staff would have to go through the training to be able to actively carry one on their person or have it in their room.”
AHS study hall advisor Donna Green would not feel safe if staff within AHS were armed. She said that arming school staff would lead to conflicting cases. “On one hand, it would be good if ever the worst case happened. On the other hand what would happen if that weapon was ever stolen or left out?” Green also said, “I’m not sure the students would see it as protection for them.”

To Read more about the impact on AHS, check out this story:

Iowa Arming Educators