Colorado Senate Minority Leader Chris Holbert is on to something with his bill to help school districts train personnel and teachers to arm themselves with guns on school grounds. But we see the Parker Republican’s bill as problematic, and ask lawmakers to consider Senate Bill 5 as a starting place for legislation that, with revision, could better fulfill the senator’s good intentions to provide protections for students and faculty.

Just so we’re clear: We are not fans of arming teachers with guns. The classroom hardly seems the place for them. But we’re not inclined to reject Holbert’s goals simply because of that belief, and for some pretty good reasons.

For one thing, we get it that our views are likely colored by the fact our city’s schools benefit from a robust police force at the ready. But many Colorado school districts are in rural areas far from such law enforcement protections. Some have only the sheriff’s office to turn to, and in many of those areas deputies can be far away.

Finally, the question of arming teachers already has been answered, as some districts, working within existing school-safety law, have reclassified teachers as security personnel.

Read more at The Denver Post