Armed School Guards in Washington? Tell Us What You Think

Calling on the federal goverment, local lawmakers and school officials to recognize that armed school guards will make schools safer, a panel funded by the National Rifle Association released a report outlining its plan to thwart school violence with ramped-up campus security.

The study, called the Report of the National School Shield Task Force, outlined what its members see as a bullwark against violence, particulary gun violence: Arming on-campus guards or teachers in the nation's schools.

"Teachers should teach, but if there is personnel that has interest and is willing to go through 40 to 60 hours of [firearms] training, then schools should be willing to [arm them]," said the panel's leader, Asa Hutchinson, a former Republican congressman from Arkansas, according to the Huffington Post.

The report, released Tuesday, was written in response to shootings at the Sandy Hook Elementary School where 20-year-old Adam Lanza shot and killed 20 students and six adult staff members.

A 12-person task force, including Ralph Basham, the Former Director of U.S. Secret Service and Bruce Bowen, Former Deputy Director of U.S. Secret Service, assembled the 225-page report.

Among the conclusions:

-- That the NRA should work with goverment officials to develop school security plans that would train and arm school officers and provide online tools to help schools assess security vulnerabilities, the New York Times reported.

-- That these armed officers officers should take a 40- to 60-hour NRA training course based on a schools' security needs.

You can full the full report here. You can find a video of the news conference here.