The Hashtag
#ArmTeachers exploded after Trump suggested arming educators to stop school shootings, a proposal teachers overwhelmingly rejected as absurd and dangerous.
Origins
On February 21, 2018—a week after the Parkland shooting killed 17—Trump tweeted: ”…If a potential ‘sicko shooter’ knows that a school has a large number of very weapons talented teachers (and others) who will be instantly shooting, the sicko will NEVER attack that school.”
He proposed giving teachers “a little bit of a bonus” to carry guns. The idea came from NRA talking points after every school shooting: the only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.
Cultural Impact
Teachers’ responses were swift and scathing:
- “I can barely afford supplies, now I need a gun budget?”
- “I became a teacher to educate, not to kill”
- Photos of teachers holding books, calculators, art supplies with captions “These are my weapons”
- Surveys showed 73% of teachers opposed arming educators
The hashtag highlighted:
- The absurdity of militarizing schools instead of regulating guns
- Teachers already buying classroom supplies with their own money
- The fantasy that teachers would successfully engage school shooters
- Risks of accidents, student access to guns, armed teachers shooting each other
Some states passed laws allowing armed teachers. Most districts declined. The conversation resurfaced after every subsequent school shooting, including Uvalde in 2022, where armed police waited outside for an hour.