An NRA-backed bill in Idaho that would allow public school teachers to be armed on school grounds has jumped its first legislative hurdle, passing a House committee Wednesday.
“HB 415, supported by the NRA, underscores our commitment to the safety of children by empowering trained and responsible school personnel to carry concealed firearms. This reflects our belief in protecting the vulnerable by doing so,” NRA Idaho State Director Aoibhín Klein told Fox News Digital on Wednesday.
“Furthermore, HB 415 ensures the privacy and strategic advantage of these advocates by keeping permit details confidential and exempting them from public records disclosure. We are sending a clear message that we are dedicated to safety and staunchly defending the Second Amendment.”
Republicans on the House State Affairs Committee voted along party lines Wednesday to advance the bill, which will now be considered by the House.
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A customer sees a Smith & Wesson M&P40 handgun for sale at a gun store. (Kyle Grillot/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Republican state Rep. Edward Hill on Monday introduced a House bill that would allow teachers and other school employees to conceal carry items on campus and protect the identities of armed individuals from public records requests. 415 was submitted.
“There is an urgent need to protect our schools from people who would do harm to our children,” Hill told the Idaho Statesman earlier this month. “We want to fill that gap, that critical three to five minute period where the carnage happens.”
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The bill would only allow Idaho school employees with “enhanced” concealed weapons permits to carry them on school property. The enhanced permit is a more detailed version of the state's standard concealed carry permit and requires eligible residents age 21 and older to complete eight hours of designated firearms training and a background check. .
State Rep. Edward Hill in his official photo. (Idaho State Legislature)
Under the bill, armed personnel would have “immediate control” of firearms. That means the gun must be concealed somewhere on your person, you must notify your school principal that you are carrying a concealed weapon, and you must present an enhanced concealed carry permit.
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But school leaders are not required to tell school boards which staff members are armed. Schools would be required to keep a list of armed personnel on campus, along with photos, to share with law enforcement.
Additionally, the identities of armed teachers would be removed from public records, and teachers would be protected from civil or criminal liability for using a firearm during a “deadly threat.”
The bill states, “School personnel will not be held civilly or criminally liable for their decisions to participate or not participate in an armed conflict when a deadly threat to safety occurs in a school or on school grounds.'' “it is written like this.
Photos from the 2022 Friends of NRA Event. (Nuclear Regulatory Commission)
Public comment on the bill was held Wednesday ahead of a committee vote, with some critics arguing that teachers are not asking for the bill, and others saying that teachers are not asking for it in violent situations. They argued that the presence of guns could lead to further carnage.
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“As far as we can see, no educators are actually asking for this,” Paul Stark, executive director of the Idaho Education Association, told the committee, according to a report in Idaho Education News. “There was some testimony in this session about not trusting librarians with books, which translates to trusting librarians with Glocks.”
Klein told Fox News Digital that children deserve the “strongest shield” against tragedy and the bill provides that protection.
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“Our children deserve the strongest shield against evil, and HB 415 provides that protection,” she said.
