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Local leaders against the idea of arming teachers

Would armed teachers be able to prevent an attack?

President Donald Trump says if they're qualified, give them a weapon, but not everyone agrees.

Thursday, New Hampshire lawmakers rejected an attempt to allow pistols and revolvers on the state's public college campuses.

"How do you know that one student that gets bullied that one last time says I've had enough, I'm going in," said Julie Bachand.

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Bachand is a gun owner and has seven children - and worries about school shootings.

"You've got parents who can't keep their guns safe from their kids, now we're asking teachers to do the same thing," said Bachand.

The New Hampshire Teachers Association says arming educators only avoids solving the real problem:

"Politicians admitting that school zones have become killing zones and that our children and educators are unsafe under existing laws, is not progress. The time for thoughts and prayers has passed. Politicians' thoughts and prayers have only led to empty chairs. Educators and other education employees did not enter the profession to carry guns to their work place. They don't want to be armed guards, they don't support the waste of money it would take to arm them, and they don't want politicians to offer lip service and half-baked ideas masquerading as concern for students and educators."

President Trump spent Thursday grappling with how to prevent more school shootings. He said he supports the idea of allowing some teachers to carry concealed weapons in schools, and proposes those teachers get bonuses.

READ MORE: Trump presses for teachers to carry concealed weapons as part of plans to deter school shootings

"You won't have those shootings because these people are cowards. They are not going to enter a school if 20 percent of the teachers have guns, maybe 10 percent, it may be 40 percent," said Trump.

The Massachusetts Teachers Association called Trump's suggestion outrageous:

"The president's suggestion that we arm educators is simply outrageous. It reflects a bizarre commitment to violence as the answer to problems. This says something not only about the president, but also about a deeper violence in our society. The students organizing to end gun violence and the educators who are joining them have committed to a more peaceful world. That is a message and struggle we should all take up."

But some law enforcement officers believe that's a bad idea.

Roy says it comes down to training. Her department does extensive training, including a pre-planned active shooting drill next week inside of a school.

"Teachers just are not equipped. It's not that they're not capable of it. They're not equipped to to react in the same way. It's dangerous for teachers, it's dangerous for students," said Roy.

Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker says he doesn't think more guns is the answer:

"With respect to teachers, I don't think more guns is the answer, in classrooms, to this problem. I think we should be doing a better job with many of the things we do here in Massachusetts to ensure that people who purchase guns have to pursue a process to get licensed to do so. Its far more refined and restricted than it is in many other places. And the other thing I would say is that there are a number of school districts in Massachusetts, including the one where my kids went to school, where you have resource officers who are police officers in many of your schools at various times during the day, sometimes the whole day. Police officers are one thing, but teachers should be teachers."

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh and Boston Schools Superintendent Tommy Chang say the idea is illogical:

"The mere thought that teachers should be armed in order to ward off violence is utterly illogical and will only result in making our students and teachers less safe.

The real issue at hand continues to be access to guns. In Boston, we have some of the strictest gun laws in the country. We have a Mayor and a Police Commissioner who are fighting federal proposals that threaten to move us backward, such as the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act. Just last year, we hosted the New England Regional Gun Summit right here at the Bolling Building to work with our neighboring cities and states on preventing the illegal flow of firearms into our city.

When it comes to school safety, we know that our focus should be on violence prevention and creating a culture of inclusion in all of our schools. We are providing regular training that's rooted in best practices to ensure the safety of our students if a situation were to occur, not wasting our time training educators how to carry and use a firearm. Our priority in Boston will always be the well-being of our school communities, and bringing guns into schools is simply not the answer."