Keene ISD Superintendent Ricky Stephens said he supports arming his Texas school personnel because it is better to meet deadly threats with pistols rather than pencils.

He made this observation as armed school personnel receive increased attention following the attack on Florida’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

WFAA reports that Keene ISD and other school districts in Texas are allowed to arm certain school personnel via the Protection of Texas Children Law (2013). The law allows districts to created/designate “school marshals” for their campuses. Those marshals are chosen from school employees and are put through special training to carry and use a firearm on campus.

Superintendent Stephens praised the creation of “school marshals,” saying, “Administrators and teachers are going to be the first ones who arrive, so do you want them to arrive with a pencil or a pistol?”

Keene ISD Chief Ronny Potts echoed Stephens’ sentiment and rejected claims that teachers are not up to the task of defending themselves and their students. Potts said, “I would have them back me up as a police officer because they’re qualified. They’re determined to survive, and to save kids.”

The Texas law requires armed school personnel to keep their firearms in a safe or on their persons “at all times.”

Argyle parent Tori Bernal expressed her support of the “school marshal” program, saying, “I absolutely love it. Just knowing that my children are a lot safer, and that teachers know what to do if a shooting occurred.”

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News, the host of the Breitbart podcast Bullets with AWR Hawkins, and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. Sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.