In the aftermath of the Parkland school shootings, it was suggested that arming teachers would be a significant step to creating a safer school environment.  However, a Gallup poll of 500 K-12 teachers dissuades that idea. In a separate question, just 1 in 5 teachers agreed that arming teachers and staff members would make schools safer.  Moreover, approximately 75% of U.S. teachers do not want to carry guns in school, and they overwhelmingly favor gun control measures over security steps meant to "harden" schools.  How does this apply to the average workplace?

There have been a number of workplace shootings reported over the years.  Earlier this month, a man fatally shot his ex-wife at her workplace in Thousand Oaks, California before gravely wounding himself in an apparent suicide attempt.  Here in the Detroit area last month, a suburban Detroit man was charged in connection with two fatal shootings at separate businesses. Another example was in 2017 when five people at a business near Orlando, Florida were killed by a former employee who went through a warehouse singling out his victims.  The shooter then killed himself.

In response to the Parkland shooting, Lake County, Florida commissioners (17 miles north of Parkland) unanimously voted to add language to its employee handbook that allows people with concealed-carry permits to bring their guns to work. The move covers 776 county employees, from librarians to laborers.  Why the change?  According to one commissioner, “I don’t want my life, my family’s lives, or my employees’ lives dependent on someone else’s response time.”

According to Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, a gun-control advocacy group based in San Francisco, approximately 20 states have laws that stop companies from declaring their parking lots and garages as gun-free zones.  In Ohio, where such a law took effect last year, many employers worry about the safety implications, including at plants where there are dangerous chemicals, said Don Boyd, the director of labor and legal affairs for the Ohio Chamber of Commerce.

In Michigan the law is clear. Michigan is an open carry state, but the employer can prohibit employees from carrying a concealed weapon in the course of his or her employment with that employer, which can include the employer’s private parking lot. 

But it still doesn’t answer the question, should HR be armed in the workplace?  The questions to think about includes is HR trained to identify a situation where a weapon should be used or not? Is HR trained to de-escalate potential violent situations?   What if HR shoots someone?  What liability is there?  HR is not a sworn policy officer.  Could the HR employee be looking at significant jail time for the actions taken?  And would company business insurance cover the aftermath of any shootouts?

So, if there is a potential violent situation in the workplace, would it be reasonable for HR who locks their gun in a console in the car to go out and retrieve it and then go back in to the “fire zone”?  Mike Kahoe, the president of Group Management Services Inc., a human resource outsourcing company in Ohio, brings a handgun to the office when he anticipates situations with clients or employees could get violent. For instance, when firing a burly sales rep who slammed a chair down during the uncomfortable conversation, his gun was in a nearby drawer.   “It made me feel a little better,” he said.

Maybe Clint Eastwood would have been a great HR leader.  The squint, the stogie, the poncho, the fast draw, and the shoot-first attitude would make HR well respected and feared by employees or others who are tempted to get out of line. Yet that’s not HR.   On the other hand, logically, having an active shooter policy and procedure and training employees on it regularly would make them safer at work, and possibly in other situations as well.

Source: NPR 3/22/18, The Wall Street Journal 3/22/18, NBC News 3/23/18, NYTimes 6/5/17