AN Oregon high school teacher on Tuesday sued for her right to bring a gun into the classroom for personal protection, clashing with anti-gun advocates fighting for years to rid US schools of weapons.
The teache
r, who has a legal permit to carry a concealed handgun, filed a lawsuit against the Medford school district in southwestern Oregon to overturn the district’s rule that prohibits teachers from bringing a weapon onto school grounds.
The standoff between the teacher and the school district has grabbed the attention of both sides of the national gun debate.
After a student shot dead 32 people at Virginia Tech University in April, some pro-gun advocates have argued that teachers and perhaps students should be armed to prevent such tragedies in the future.
“The right to protect yourself is natural, God-given and should not be taken away,” said Kevin Starrett, executive director of the Oregon Firearms Federation, which is paying for the teacher’s legal bills. — Reuters.
