Rep.: Conn. Shooting 'Affirmed' Need For New Law

The sponsor of a bill signed into law Friday that allows the state's school districts to arm teachers and other personnel with guns says the school shooting in Connecticut was not the reason for the bill.

Rep. Scott Craig says he started working with federal law enforcement officials on the so-called school sentinels bill in early November. He says the December shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn., "only affirmed the rightness of this bill."

South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard signed the bill into law Friday. It will go into effect July 1. The law is the first of its kind since the Connecticut school shooting.

Scott, a Republican from Rapid City, says the measure does not force teachers to carry a gun.