Colorado District Takes Up Arms While Gun Debate Rages in Denver

A tiny school district in southeast Colorado — too small to afford an armed security guard and too far from the nearest town for deputies to respond quickly to an emergency — is the first to announce that its principal and superintendent will soon carry weapons to school.

The move comes amid a passionate debate on a slate of gun control measures making their way though the Democratic-controlled state legislature; a package of four bills, including one that would ban concealed weapons on college campuses, is expected to pass onto the state senate Monday.

A Republican-backed gun bill killed last month by Democrats would have allowed individual school districts to decide whether to allow teachers with concealed carry permits to bring guns to school.