--- description: U.S. teachers are responding to calls to arm teachers with guns by using hashtag #ArmMeWith and demanding better school resources title: Teachers Are Demanding They be Armed With Supplies, Not Guns image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt58780c6cb7c82c09/698928b0929fad7204befbb7/gettyimages-922306742.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Gun Violence](/tag/gun-violence/) ## Gun Violence Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Teachers Are Using #ArmMeWith to Demand They be Armed With Supplies, Not Guns by [Eli Meixler](/author/eli/) ## Eli Meixler Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 23, 2018 8:13 AM CUT  Students participate in a protest against gun violence Feb. 21, 2018 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. Students participate in a protest against gun violence Feb. 21, 2018 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.Alex Wong—Getty Images by [Eli Meixler](/author/eli/) ## Eli Meixler Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 23, 2018 8:13 AM CUT Teachers are responding to President Donald Trump’s suggestion that arming teachers would prevent more school shootings and are using the hashtag #ArmMeWith to demand better school supplies and mental health resources, not guns. Trump suggested that more teachers should carry firearms during a [listening session](http://time.com/5169534/donald-trump-arm-teachers-listening-session-school-shooting/ "undefined") Wednesday with [survivors](http://time.com/5168821/florida-school-shooting-gun-control/ "undefined") of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, in Parkland, Florida which [claimed 17 lives](http://time.com/5160564/florida-high-school-shooting-victims-name/ "undefined") last week. In a series of tweets Thursday, Trump argued that [arming a percentage](http://time.com/5170304/trump-teachers-armed-guns-florida-school-shooting/ "undefined") of “gun adept teachers,” would protect students from mass shootings. “ATTACKS WOULD END!” he [tweeted](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/966653833047887874?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref%5Furl=http%3A%2F%2Ftime.com%2F5170304%2Ftrump-teachers-armed-guns-florida-school-shooting%2F "undefined"). Many teachers disagreed, including [numerous ](https://www.aft.org/press-release/aft-executive-council-condemns-gun-violence "undefined")teachers [organizations](http://www.nea.org/home/72835.htm "undefined"). But English teachers Olivia Bertels and Brittany Wheaton went a step further by [coining ](https://www.instagram.com/p/BfcO3jQhBtU/?hl=en&taken-by=missbertels%5F "undefined")the hashtag #ArmMeWith on Instagram to call attention to educators’ other needs while exposing the “absurd notion” that armed teachers leads to safer classrooms, [according](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2018/02/22/trump-plan-odds-teacher-armmewith-movement/362294002/ "undefined") to _USA Today_. “The vast majority of school personnel are uninterested in carrying a weapon into a building full of hundreds or thousands of children each day,” Bertels said. “Those desires are not being reflected in the tone-deaf suggestions being made by lawmakers as a solution to America’s gun problem.” “Teachers already shoulder a huge burden when it comes to educating properly, due to lack of funding, support and resources and making sure their students are taken care of emotionally,” Wheaton added, [according to CNN](https://edition.cnn.com/2018/02/22/politics/armmewith-twitter-teachers-guns/index.html "undefined"). “Asking us to now carry the burden of having the responsibility to kill is irreparably damaging, even if we never have to discharge our weapon.” The movement has taken off on social media, with thousands of teachers posting their own proposals to improve America’s classrooms, such as funding for staff and books, smaller class sizes, more mental health counselors. > [](https://twitter.com/MrsSMerriam/status/966131305518895104) > [](https://twitter.com/Miss%5FJohnston5/status/966131055659974656) > [](https://twitter.com/megandmilk/status/966130672137068545) > [](https://twitter.com/%5Fkaykinsey/status/966103881385168897) > [](https://twitter.com/turlingteach/status/966137544936112134) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5172245/armmewith-teachers-gun-control/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5172245/armmewith-teachers-gun-control/"},"headline":"Teachers Are Using #ArmMeWith to Demand They be Armed With Supplies, Not Guns","datePublished":"2018-02-23T08:13:58.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T19:24:47.519Z","description":"President Trump suggested that arming teachers with guns could help prevent mass shootings","url":"https://time.com/5172245/armmewith-teachers-gun-control/","keywords":["Gun Violence","onetime","overnight"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt58780c6cb7c82c09/698928b0929fad7204befbb7/gettyimages-922306742.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eli Meixler","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/eli/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt58780c6cb7c82c09/698928b0929fad7204befbb7/gettyimages-922306742.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Students From A Maryland High School Organize Walkout And March On Capitol Demanding Gun Control Action From Congress","caption":"Students From A Maryland High School Organize Walkout And March On Capitol Demanding Gun Control Action From Congress","creditText":"Alex Wong—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/gun-violence/","name":"Gun Violence"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5172245/armmewith-teachers-gun-control/","name":"Teachers Are Using #ArmMeWith to Demand They be Armed With Supplies, Not Guns"}}]}] ```