Armed teachers will likely endanger the safety of Texas students
Now, there was a VERY pro-2A article in todays paper also written by a girl I know who is the Chairwoman of the IU College Republicans, but I cannot find it online right now. When I do, I will post it up too, it's very good, but a little bit of misstating facts and not identifying that it's legal to carry on campus, just against school policy.
Indiana Daily Student - IDSnews.com
Armed teachers will likely endanger the safety of Texas students
WE SAY The Wild West should stay in textbooks, not come to life in the classroom
IDS | September 03, 2008
The Wild Wild West is an integral part of American cultural history. We’ve all watched at least one old movie with John Wayne, some vigilante justice, and a showdown at high noon, preferably one that combines all three.
But we draw the line at turning cowboy-movie psyche into living reality. That’s exactly what the school board in tiny Harrold, Texas, is doing with its decision to let select teachers carry concealed handguns at school, which it claims will deter a Columbine-style school shooting.
The school in this small rural town accommodates children of all grade levels and barely has more than 100 students. The town has a low crime rate, with many of its citizens claiming they don’t even lock their doors; and it certainly does not have gang-related violence issues like schools in Houston or Dallas.
Yet the superintendent, David Thweatt, is concerned children will be “fish in a bowl” if an attack were to occur and teachers were unarmed. Allowing a select number of the school’s two dozen teachers to undergo 40 hours of training in order to carry concealed guns in school seems like a natural step to Thweatt, who says people in his town are “not under the illusion that the police are there to protect them.”
The small population and low crime rates of Harrold point out that the probability of a disgruntled student or deranged gunman laying siege to the school is extremely low. Training and allowing teachers to carry concealed guns is not only pointless, but a waste of the school district’s resources. This measure seems reactionary, without due cause or reason. In fact, residents are complaining that the school board did not adequately keep them informed of its plans and made little to no effort in gathering their opinions on the matter.
The potential risks of this decision far outweigh any benefit that might occur in the highly unlikely situation of an attack within the school. There is always the danger of gun-related accidents. Even in the unlikely event that there is a security situation in the school, do we really want an O.K. Corral-style gun battle raging inside a K-12 school house?
The bottom line is 40 hours of training does not a police officer make. As one member of the Houston Association of Teachers stated, “We are trained to teach and to educate. We are not trained to tame the Wild West.”
Copyright © 2008 Indiana Daily Student
Now, there was a VERY pro-2A article in todays paper also written by a girl I know who is the Chairwoman of the IU College Republicans, but I cannot find it online right now. When I do, I will post it up too, it's very good, but a little bit of misstating facts and not identifying that it's legal to carry on campus, just against school policy.
Huckleberry fish shoot.
