GOP state lawmaker wants to arm teachers in private schools

MADISON — A Wisconsin Republican lawmaker wants to arm teachers in private schools with firearms as a way to defend themselves and students.

Rep. Jesse Kremer on Monday made the proposal Monday, just five days after a school shooting at a high school in Florida left 17 dead.

The bill has little chance of passage, however. The Assembly plans to wrap up its work for the year on Thursday, a day before Kremer's deadline for co-sponsors.

The bill would legalize weapons on the grounds of any private, religious or tribal school in the state that would be OK with it.

Kremer says gun-free school zones "merely serve to concentrate populations of vulnerable targets on school grounds and surrounding areas."

Kremer says he hopes to create a pilot project at private schools and then expand to public schools.