Donald Trump took part in a listening session yesterday with survivors and families of those killed in the Florida school shooting. During this meeting, he suggested that arming teachers could be one way to stop such tragedies.
New York-based journalist Dave Hannigan also works as a teacher, and he strongly objects to the idea, saying it's "absolutely ridiculous."
"It's a sign of how sick this country is and how sick the relationship it has with guns is that they would even consider this."
"Every solution to the problem is, 'let’s get more guns out there.' The people who love guns in America all have this fantasy that they are equipped to take down the bad guy in an emergency situation, which of course is an utter fantasy."
Dave points out that there is an accuracy rate of just 18% in shoot-outs with trained police officers, and so putting guns in the hands of teachers would be catastrophic.
There have even been conspiracy claims in some quarters that there were actors posing as survivors, and that the media loves mass shootings because they are good for ratings. Dave says this is an attempt by gun advocates to deflect attention away from the problem.
"They will talk about anything rather than the fact that guns are killing people. It’s all about diverting attention from the real issue."