FRANKFORT, Ky. — In a landslide vote in the House, the majority of members said schools are safer with armed resource officers (SROs). The bill to arm the SROs that are required by law, Senate Bill 8, heads to the governor's desk for his signature to become law now. Not all parents are pleased with the legislation, particularly those in Jefferson County Public schools (JCPS). There, the school board has been working to craft its own safety policy; however, it looks as if they will now be forced to use security officers with guns. 

Marie Bingle is one parent who says she is "pretty disappointed." She'd hoped for a different outcome as she watched the vote come down on the House's live feed Friday. Her 16-year-old daughter is a sophomore at a JCPS high school. Bingle believes guns will further trauma some students associate with the firearms. 

"I think that raises the level of fear. Also, I feel like that disturbs their setting you know," Bingle adds. 

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) agrees. They had testified against requiring officers in schools, then against mandating the firearms, and then suggested the SROs at least wear body cameras. None of their arguments seemed to carry much weight with the majority of lawmakers, in the end. 

The ACLU of Kentucky's Keturah Herron worries that any potential police misconduct will not be documented on camera and that the school to prison pipeline will be exaggerated if officers police students.

"I think one of the issues that folks haven't brought up is understanding that the amount of students in Jefferson County who have been traumatized by gun violence," Herron adds. 

Lawmakers brought the scenario of active school shooters to the debate on Friday morning. Some, arguing armed SROs are the last line of defense in the face of an active shooter. 

Rep. Jerry Miller (R- Louisville) said he'd recently been approached by two teachers who begged him to vote 'yes' to the bill. "They taught in two of the toughest schools in Louisville, and they pleaded with me, arm our security officers," said Miller.

Rep. R. Travis Brenda (R- Cartersville) said it's a given that officers in schools should have guns when officers outside the very chamber where they debated did. "How much more important is it to maintain the safety of our students by having our school resource officers with the tools they need at their disposal when they need them?" he said.