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Gov. Otter addresses guns in schools on radio show

Gov. Butch Otter answered questions about the topic Tuesday on The Nate Shelman Show.

It has been nearly a week after a deadly shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., and the conversation of gun control continues

As protests spark around the country and students and parents call for government officials to tighten gun laws, Gov Butch Otter was on The Nate Shelman Show on KBOI radio Tuesday and the topic was addressed by a few listeners.

"Governor, can we remove gun-free zones and allow teachers and administration or additional security to carry? If not, why not?," was among the questions asked.

"We probably could but I don't think we would do that without a high level of training for those that were given permission to bring guns into a gun-free zone, and the reason for that is they need to know when to use that weapon," Otter said.

The governor was also asked if our schools are as safe as they can possibly be.

With nearly 150 school districts in the state - serving almost 285,000 students - Otter said the Idaho Office of school safety is doing everything they possibly can. Since 2016, they've done 294 assessments, which assess school accessibility, protocols for someone who isn't a student visiting a school and emergency training.

But Otter says everyone can learn from what happened at North Junior high on Monday, when the administration received word of a possible threat and police intervened.

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