In yesterday's Trib there was a headline: Prof: States should copy Utah guns-in-school law. Utah's law allows teachers to carry concealed weapons in the classroom. There was a Senate panel and Gabrielle Giffords spoke in order to heighten gun-control measures. Which I am 100% for.
But...
Teachers having guns in the classroom seems like a step in the wrong direction.
Shouldn't we be working towards a gun-free school zone?
Or leaving the guns to trained professionals?
I think a policeman or an armed guard in schools would be help more than teachers carrying guns in their classrooms.
My mom is teacher. She teaches 6th grade. I can't imagine her carrying a weapon of any sort. Especially a gun. Does that mean she won't be protected? Is this becoming the wild wild west where everyone is responsible for their own home(room) front? Shouldn't schools offer some sort of protection? Some barrier between the outside and the classrooms?
Should parents be allowed to know if their child's teacher carries a gun? Would you want your child in a class with a gun or without a gun?
The article stated that "Professor Kopel, research director at the Denver University Independence Institute, said the gun opponents always come up with 'all kinds of fantastic scenarios' about how guns in schools would lead to teachers shooting each other or threatening students, or that the students will steal the guns."
I'm not a gun opponent but my response is... Ah. Yeah. Those are my exact concerns. Having a loaded hidden weapon in a building full of children... doesn't sound safe to me at all.
As an American I think it is fine to have a concealed weapons permit. But I don't think you should bring gun(s) into schools. Teachers are trained to teach and mentor kids. Schools can hire someone or a team of people who are trained to protect the school.
Am I standing alone on this? Do you think teachers should be allowed to carry guns into schools? Isn't that what we are fighting against? Guns in schools?
4 comments:
Man, all that time that I taught in Utah, I could have had a gun in my desk to threaten my students with? Dang it! But jokes aside, no, teachers should not have guns at schools. The kids WILL steal them. And someone WILL get hurt. If the schools need protection, they need armed security police.
I thought I was the only one...
Honey, you are TOTALLY not alone in this one.
I completely agree with you. My husband is a police officer and the school resource officers here in the Burg all carry weapons, I think that's the only way it should be.
Plus think about the teachers you've had. It seems about 1 in 10 teachers was a little off, or you don't have fond memories of him/her. Can you imagine that same mean/mentally or emotionally unstable teacher having a loaded weapon at their disposal? I'm not saying they're going to go postal on kids or anything, but if there was actually an intruder in the building they would probably do more harm than good.
Well there's my novel on the subject. Leave the guns and protection to those people who are trained for such, and leave the teaching to the teachers. End of story.
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