Editor’s note: This commentary is by Keri Gelenian, who is head of schools at Rivendell Interstate School District.
On Feb. 22, N.H. Senate Bill 12 eliminated the need for a permit to carry a concealed handgun. Changes in the law led me to ask state lawyers to clarify the issue of guns in schools. Eventually I learned that it is legal for adults to conceal or openly carry handguns in New Hampshire schools, including school employees, unless restrictions are spelled out in employment policies. It is also legal for students 18 or over to carry in schools, with the stipulation under federal law that they must be expelled for one year if caught. If a student is caught with a gun and suspended but refuses to leave the school, he or she can be arrested for disorderly conduct, but not for having a handgun in school.
Should we issue teachers and principals Glocks and provide weapons training?
Vermont’s handgun laws are similar except when it comes to schools. A Vermont State Police officer told us what we expected, that Vermont schools and buses are “gun free zones.” A person in Vermont who brings a gun into a school will be arrested.
In trying to read the minds of state legislators who support the legality of weapons in school, I can only assume they believe that if bad guys have guns then they want good guys to be armed. The logic leads to some bizarre considerations: Should we issue teachers and principals Glocks and provide weapons training? Or should we post an armed police officer in every school? Unless the law changes, school officials need to provide guidance to teachers about meeting with armed parents in after-school meetings. They need to consider whether or not to invest in buzzer systems on doors, or what to do if a strange person is seen walking toward the school with a handgun.
School administrators and boards are responsible for the emotional and physical safety of students in schools. New Hampshire gun laws make this task more difficult. On Jan. 13, state legislator Carolyn Halstead accidently dropped her loaded handgun in a public committee hearing in the statehouse. Parents, students, teachers, boards and educational professional organizations probably will not be able to influence her thinking on gun laws, yet legislators like her should not stand in the way of sensible change.
