Pistol-Packin’ School Marms?
Teachers With Guns! Here to Stay?
History was made in Harrold, Texas on the first day of the new 2008-2009 school year.
For the first time anywhere in the USA, teachers are legally authorized to carry concealed weapons INTO school and the story is making the national news.
Needless to say, there are very vocal supporters and opponents of this latest step towards preventing school violence, as seen first at Columbine and repeated too many times across the entire nation.
Parents are either in favor, or extremely opposed, to the idea of teachers carrying weapons.
One parent was reported as saying that teachers are trained to educate, not carry guns.
As a card-carrying concealed weapons person myself, I know that you have to undergo stringent testing to receive a permit. But I also know that shooting a target is not the same thing as shooting a person.
Students seemed curious as to who was “carrying heat”, but most said they didn’t feel threatened by the fact.
The idea is to try to prevent further Columbine/Virginia Tech massacres by having a responsible person on site to react if someone starts shooting. The hope is that not knowing whether an armed person is close at hand or not, might give pause to shooters attacking a school (at least in Harrold, Texas).
With violence on the rise against students and teachers,
“Harrold Superintendent David Thweatt said the board approved the policy in an October open meeting that had been publicized. He said the decision was made after nearly two years of researching the best school security options at the school, just off a busy highway and 30 minutes away from the sheriff’s office.”
“When you outlaw guns in a certain area, the only people who follow that are law-abiding citizens, and everybody else ignores it.”
One teacher interviewed expressed ambivalence towards the idea and stated,
“If this stays in effect, it will only last until a student gets shot. Especially with attacks on teachers by students.”
According to the article, teachers received additional training in crisis management and hostage negotiations.
How do you feel about teachers carrying concealed weapons in schools?
Are you for it or against it?
For the full story, Click Here!
Til next time,
Brennan
