(NEWS CENTER Maine) -- A Maine high school teacher agreed to be interviewed on camera about his belief that teachers should be armed to protect students, but only if he remained anonymous.
Q: "You wanted to remain anonymous. Would you explain why you wanted to remain anonymous?"
A: "The relationship that I have with my co-workers I value a lot. We disagree a lot and I'm one of the people who feel like we should talk about both sides....I didn't want to put them in a situation where they doubted me."
Q: "Why do you think it's an uncomfortable subject?"
A: "The concept of; 'I might have to use stronger force to hurt somebody or potentially kill somebody,' is nothing that was ever in the lexicon. It's something they had never considered anywhere in their career path....Not everyone is cut out to carry a weapon. Not everyone could do it."
Q: "What is your stance on whether teachers should be armed in the classroom?"
A: "I think, given the right set of parameters, given the right training, that having an armed individual on campus is the right thing to do....There are people that I know who I would feel absolutely comfortable with. I actually know teachers opposed to having weapons in the school who said, 'if it had to happen, I wouldn't mind that person being you,' meaning me."
Q: "Would you be comfortable being the only teacher armed in a school, in your school?"
A: "When we had discussions with our classes, I told my students that their lives are more valuable than my life and what I needed to do to protect them is what I would do if there ever was a situation....So yes, I would be comfortable if I was the only person, and I would be very very conscious of responsibilities."
Q: "What if the school board or superintendent's office decided that somebody else would be better suited to be the armed teacher in your school? How would that make you feel?"
A: "It depends on who the individual was. In one of my buildings I have three colleagues that I would have no problems at all if the school board said we've selected Mr. So and So or Mrs. So and So to be the designated you know, safety person. I'd be comfortable with that. If they chose X,Y,Z somebody else, I might be considering asking for a transfer to another building or another district or possibly deciding that it's time to end my career in education."
For more from this interview, join NEWS CENTER Maine Thursday night at 7 for Listen to ME: Part 2.