The governor received a standing ovation at a Tea Party event near Dallas Monday evening after voicing his support to let local school districts decide to allow their teachers to bring guns to school.
"In the state of Texas with our concealed handgun license if you go through the process and you have been dually back grounded and trained and you are a concealed handgun licensed carrying individual you should be able to carry your handgun anywhere in the state," said Perry.
This comes just four days after the Sandy Hook Elementary massacre in Connecticut that left 20 children and 6 adults dead.
Perry called the shooting evil and said if a district thinks arming teachers is the way to make schools safer he's behind it, but Lubbock-Cooper Superintendent Pat Henderson is not.
"I don't want to have more guns around students just for the sake of saying well we have more guns," said Henderson.
He said in order to protect the kids you have to put those weapons in the right hands, the hands of trained and experienced police officers.
"Teachers are not trained law enforcement officers," Henderson said. "And people can say they can take a course; that's not the same thing a spending your whole life in law enforcement. If we want to increase our security measures as we have done you step up your securities with licensed, certified, experienced and armed, all of our officers are armed, police officers."
Harold Independent School District, a small school near Wichita Falls has already been implementing Perry's idea since 2008.
"Many can learn how to safely and effectively guard others with firearms," said Harold Superintendent David Thweatt.
But Henderson thinks allowing teachers to carry weapons in school would do more harm than good.
"You have a whole bunch of other problems you might get into, you would get into such as guns being stolen, lost at school," said Henderson. "I just don't think that's the way to go."
The Texas Legislative session will begin in less than three weeks.
"In the state of Texas with our concealed handgun license if you go through the process and you have been dually back grounded and trained and you are a concealed handgun licensed carrying individual you should be able to carry your handgun anywhere in the state," said Perry.
This comes just four days after the Sandy Hook Elementary massacre in Connecticut that left 20 children and 6 adults dead.
Perry called the shooting evil and said if a district thinks arming teachers is the way to make schools safer he's behind it, but Lubbock-Cooper Superintendent Pat Henderson is not.
"I don't want to have more guns around students just for the sake of saying well we have more guns," said Henderson.
He said in order to protect the kids you have to put those weapons in the right hands, the hands of trained and experienced police officers.
"Teachers are not trained law enforcement officers," Henderson said. "And people can say they can take a course; that's not the same thing a spending your whole life in law enforcement. If we want to increase our security measures as we have done you step up your securities with licensed, certified, experienced and armed, all of our officers are armed, police officers."
Harold Independent School District, a small school near Wichita Falls has already been implementing Perry's idea since 2008.
"Many can learn how to safely and effectively guard others with firearms," said Harold Superintendent David Thweatt.
But Henderson thinks allowing teachers to carry weapons in school would do more harm than good.
"You have a whole bunch of other problems you might get into, you would get into such as guns being stolen, lost at school," said Henderson. "I just don't think that's the way to go."
The Texas Legislative session will begin in less than three weeks.
