School shootings are an absolute nightmare scenario. Parents, students, and teachers all shudder at the possibility of such an event and as well they should. I can only imagine how horrific such a thing would be.

Personally, though, I’d prefer at least one of the good guys to be armed as well. Someone like a teacher who can engage a shooter could save countless lives and maybe even end the threat before anyone loses their life. There’s a reason so many of us on this side of the gun debate advocate for allowing teachers to be armed.

In New York, though, Governor Andrew Cuomo is clearly making a statement that he’s on the other side of that debate by signing legislation that bars teachers from carrying guns at work.

Schools across New York are now banned from allowing their teachers and principals to carry guns on school grounds under a bill signed Wednesday by Gov. Andrew Cuomo. The new law, which took effect immediately, prohibits schools from allowing any employee to carry a firearm unless they are a police officer, school resource officer, peace officer or an armed security guard with the proper registration. State lawmakers approved the measure in January amid a national debate over school shootings and whether teachers should be armed. “The answer to the gun violence epidemic plaguing this country has never been and never will be more guns, and today we’re expanding New York’s nation-leading gun safety laws to further protect our children,” Cuomo said in a statement. Carrying a weapon on school grounds is a class E felony in New York.

Previously, New York law actually would allow teachers to carry if the local school board opted to allow it. Now, that possibility has ended.

Funny how local control when it comes to guns only goes one way with them. Down in Florida, Democratic Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried is all about local governments doing whatever they want when it comes to guns…but only if it creates more gun control. Now we see just how the majority of Democrats see that local control. It’s fine if you want to be more restrictive, but not if you don’t.

Meanwhile, there’s no evidence for the previous law being any sort of a problem. That’s not really surprising. Teachers go through extensive background checks, as do concealed carriers. There’s absolutely no reason to distrust teachers who are also concealed carriers. They damn well should be carrying guns in school if they so wish.

Of course, Cuomo knows this isn’t a problem, too. If he’d suspect it was really an issue, why did he wait six months to sign the bill? It’s likely he knows damn good and well that armed teachers pose no threat to anyone. However, he probably also doesn’t actually care anything about that. He’s hitched his pony up to the gun control wagon and he’s going to ride it the whole way.

Meanwhile, how many kids could die because no armed teachers were there to protect them? How many might die just so Cuomo could score some political points?