Installing metal detectors at the entrance of public schools could be one way to protect students and employees from mass shootings, two of the state's top politicians said Monday.

In separate appearances in Mobile, Alabama Republican Gov. Kay Ivey and Democratic U.S. Senator Doug Jones both said that metal detectors should be a solution toward curbing school violence.

"We need to go through metal detectors to go through airports," Ivey said during a campaign kickoff event outside GulfQuest Maritime Museum. "Maybe that ought to be a start."

Said Jones, during a visit to Bishop State Community College: "We got used to going on airplanes by going through metal detectors. People complained about it. People complained about 911. People now appreciate it. You see fewer and fewer instances (of domestic airline terrorism). I think we'll have to do that with schools."

The separate calls from Ivey and Jones come as lawmakers of all political stripes look for ways to address school safety following the latest mass shooting that occurred Wednesday in Parkland, Florida, killing 17.

Jones, earlier on Monday, told a Mobile TV station that a proposal in the Alabama Legislature that would arm teachers and school administrators was "dumbest idea I've ever heard."

The proposal surfaced last week by state Rep. Will Ainsworth, R-Guntersville, a candidate this year for lieutenant governor. Ainsworth's proposal would allow teachers and administrators the option of possessing concealed guns on school property as long as they complete firearm safety instruction.

Alabama House Speaker Mac McCutcheon, during a news conference Thursday in Montgomery, said it was too early to consider Ainsworth's proposal. He also implored state lawmakers to "put their thinking caps on" and explore possible ways to improve school safety.

A 2016 school safety and security task force report called for a more broad-based approach, but no legislation has been introduced this session calling for metal detectors at the entrance of school buildings.

The detectors are expensive in other states where lawmakers are considering them. In South Carolina, where legislation requiring metal detectors was introduced before the Florida shooting, the costs would be around $14.4 million to install them. Each year, staff and security checkpoints would cost around $98.3 million, according to a state analysis reported in The Post and Courier newspaper.

"I think cooler heads need to sit down and think about how we can keep our children safe," Ivey said, while advocating for metal detectors. "There are a lot of good ideas coming forward. Keeping our children safe should be a high priority."

Jones said that school officials, as they move ahead with school construction projects, need to keep "school safety first and foremost" in mind.

"There are school systems now in Alabama that do a good job of protecting their schools," said Jones. "They have the funding to lock down doors and classrooms. But when you go into the Black Belt of Alabama, they don't have that kind of funding. You have to look at school safety from the stand point of construction."