A Georgia school district has decided teachers will be allowed to carry guns in their classrooms.

The Fannin County School board voted to allow teachers to carry guns in schools during a school board meeting on Thursday, reports 11 Alive.

Participation in the new program is voluntary, and all firearms must be kept in holsters. Guns in purses or bags are not permitted. Anyone who wants to carry during the school day must be approved by the school board and will receive gun safety training.

The policy will go into effect immediately.

The decision drew mixed reactions.

“What if they miss and hit my child, another child, an innocent? They’re gonna get sued for wrongful death,” said one parent.

A teacher responded, “Hell to the no!” when asked if she would carry a weapon. “I went through six years of school to teach children. I didn’t train for the military,” she continued.

One grandfather believes the policy will take some slack off the police.

"I have five grandchildren, and it makes me feel better to know we're not having to wait on law enforcement to get here. Although they do a wonderful job, they're not everywhere at the same time, they can't be," he told Fox 5 Atlanta.

Another grandfather told CBS46, "Every creature tries to protect itself when threatened. For any organization, even a school, to take that right away has been an erosion of our God-given rights and our Second Amendment rights.”

The district has been exploring the idea of arming teachers since April with a proposal called GAMB. Superintendent Michael Gwatney sent a letter to parents discussing the proposal’s benefits.

“The spirit of Board Policy GAMB is to create an opportunity for certain trained volunteer personnel to utilize that tool to stop — or at least minimize — the damage being done by one who has complete disregard for human life, as well as society’s laws, and is inappropriately using a weapon to harm or kill others,” it read.

Fannin Country Schools

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