ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. --The head of the St. Johns County teachers union just returned from Tallahassee where union leaders from throughout Florida considered suggestions to permit guns in classrooms.
Dawn Chapman, president of the St. Johns teachers union, told Action News, "In the wake of what happened at Sandy Hook Elementary, that discussion was brought up."
Roby Baird says he'd feel safer knowing teachers for his five children in St. Johns County schools were armed with guns.
"I believe an armed person caring for people can definitely deter crime," said Baird.
Last week's Connecticut school massacre prompted a few lawmakers around the nation to propose the idea.
Proponents claim teachers are the last line of defense against mass tragedies, but local teachers don't agree.
I'm not a trained professional," said Marcy Hurd, a St. Augustine High School teacher, "It's not my job. It is not in my job description to have a gun."
Chapman said, "There are professionals such as police officers that should have guns, not teachers."
That is why the union tells Action News it will not support any policy arming teachers.
The National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers issued a joint statement reading, "Guns have no place in our schools. Period."
