School safety 2013: Attorney General Tom Horne outlines plan to arm school employees

PHOENIX - On Tuesday morning Attorney General Tom Horne finalized a plan to arm Arizona school employees.

Horne said it's the middle ground between two extremes. It's too dangerous to allow all teachers to carry guns on campus, but too extreme to do nothing.

HB 2656 was drafted by State Representative David Stevens.

It calls for a designated person at each Arizona public school to be allowed to have a gun.

Stevens said the gun would be kept in a lockbox that only that person can access.

The person would have to volunteer for the role, be a school employee, undergo three days of training and pass a background test.

Their identity would be kept secret to keep them safe in an attack situation.

During Tuesday's press conference two educators also spoke on behalf of the bill.

One said first responders are in place in every aspect of society, except at schools.

She said rural schools especially support the bill because it takes law enforcement a long time to respond to emergency situations. 

ABC15 crews talked with a handful of Valley parents who dropped their children off at school Tuesday morning. Most of them support the bill because they want their kids to be protected against situations like the Sandy Hook tragedy.

One woman said as long as the person knows how to use the gun and children can't access it, she likes the idea.

But another mother said she doesn't think having a gun on campus will stop a shooter in the end.

Click here to read the bill in it's entirety.