Butler County, Ohio Sheriff Richard Jones, in the wake of the Parkland, Fla. high school shooting that left 17 dead, has remained steadfastly realistic about the gun control/2nd Amendment debate, and has made concealed carry classes available to teachers wanting to train to protect students in their classes should the worst circumstances erupt.

“There’s nowhere you go that you don’t have guns. America, that’s our culture. You are not going to stop crazy people from coming in getting guns but you can stop the carnage in three to four minutes of any shooting,” he recently told a FOX Business affiliate.

I am going to offer free concealed and Carry class free 2 teachers in butler county. Limited number. Details coming soon on line. Also training on school shootings.

— Richard K. Jones (@butlersheriff) February 18, 2018

The classes, which were originally intended for teachers, were limited to 300 participants. Jones says they reached capacity within a matter of hours and soon had calls from secretaries and janitors working at schools.

“We thought we’d get 20, 25 signed up. We had 50 within the first hour. We had 100 within two hours, we had three hundred within like five hours. We offered to teachers first, then we start getting calls from a secretary that works in the school, janitors that work in the school,” Jones said.

Hundreds of teachers sign up for free gun training in Ohio https://t.co/s7CsDdIGDU

— FOX Business (@FoxBusiness) February 23, 2018

Two Ohio state senators have proposed legislation to ban assault weapons throughout the state. Sheriff Jones said the call for a statewide ban on assault weapons is not the answer.

“The school shooting wasn’t an assault weapon. They call these assault rifles. These are single shot rifles that look like assault rifles,” Sheriff Jones said, adding that they are no different than .22-caliber pistols.

While gun rights reformers might see the emergence of educators in Ohio training with firearms as a negative, the truth is actually probably much more positive: it’s proof of growth in community awareness and a desire to help lend a hand by providing skilled training, all toward protecting children.