A Little Common Sense

[Doublebass73]

http://news.yahoo.com/s//nm/20080815/ts_nm/texas_guns_dc

Texas school district to let teachers carry guns

HOUSTON (Reuters) - A Texas school district will let teachers bring guns to class this fall, the district's superintendent said on Friday, in what experts said appeared to be a first in the United States.

The board of the small rural Harrold Independent School District unanimously approved the plan and parents have not objected, said the district's superintendent, David Thweatt.

School experts backed Thweatt's claim that Harrold, a system of about 110 students 150 miles northwest of Fort Worth, may be the first to let teachers bring guns to the classroom.

Thweatt said it is a matter of safety.

"We have a lock-down situation, we have cameras, but the question we had to answer is, 'What if somebody gets in? What are we going to do?" he said. "It's just common sense."

Teachers who wish to bring guns will have to be certified to carry a concealed handgun in Texas and get crisis training and permission from school officials, he said.

Recent school shootings in the United States have prompted some calls for school officials to allow students and teachers to carry legally concealed weapons into classrooms.

The U.S. Congress once barred guns at schools nationwide, but the U.S. Supreme Court struck the law down, although state and local communities could adopt their own laws. Texas bars guns at schools without the school's permission.

[DalesCarpentry]

I am on the fence about this!!!!!!!!! Are they going to put these teachers through mental evaluation? Just because he gets pissed at a kid is he mentally stable not to shoot the kid. On the other hand will he be able to shoot a kid that brought a gun to school to kill the teachers and classmates? Like I said I am on the fence. Dale

[Cabin4]

Does the 2nd amendment exclude teachers or for some reason do we beleive teachers do not have the god given right to protect themselves like everyone else?

[DalesCarpentry]

I believe every person in OUR COUNTRY should be able to protect themselves. I question why a teacher should carry a weapon. If you think about it there must be 10'S of millions of our children in school on any given day. Out of all those schools and children do we here of a shooting? I think maybe at most 10 times a year for all the school systems. I call that pretty good odds. Dale

[Cabin4]

My view on this is very simple. Your line or work should not exclude you from carrying if your state allows concealed carry. If I were a teacher, I would not want the state to exclude me from carrying on the job. On any given day your local shopping mall likely acts as a day care center for kids of all ages. People who work in shopping malls should then be excluded because theres many kids around. Then we can make the same argument for many other lines of work as well. Kids are everywhere.

If you act like an idiot with a gun regardless of your line of work, you need to pay the price. Its self governing to me because the 2nd amendment is clear and violations of it should be clear and enforced.

The states have screwed around with the 2nd amendment and screwed it up putting more emphasis on restricting use by lawfull citizens and lessened the impact to those who violate. And our federal government has allowed states to out right violate this civil right time and time again.

I'm perfectly fine with any law abiding teacher who wants to carry a concealed firearm in the class room as long as they qualify under the law.

[deltecs]

Let's use a bit of common sense then.  If a school teacher goes on a rampage, it won't make a difference whether or not he was permitted by the school district to carry a gun in school or not.  Even if the school district restricted all firearms on school grounds has not stopped, prevented, or decreased any deaths whatsoever.  So why not permit school teachers to carry concealed at school.  If one of these does commit some atrocity, another teacher in school with a gun may prevent further deaths or injuries due proximity of having an equalizer.  Also, this policy would go a long way to counter teachings by liberal anti gun policies to our school age children.  I'd be much happier with teachers having CCW at school than I am about liberal, socialist policies taught currently by most school systems.  

[Cabin4]

Let's use a bit of common sense then.  If a school teacher goes on a rampage, it won't make a difference whether or not he was permitted by the school district to carry a gun in school or not.  Even if the school district restricted all firearms on school grounds has not stopped, prevented, or decreased any deaths whatsoever.  So why not permit school teachers to carry concealed at school.  If one of these does commit some atrocity, another teacher in school with a gun may prevent further deaths or injuries due proximity of having an equalizer.  Also, this policy would go a long way to counter teachings by liberal anti gun policies to our school age children.  I'd be much happier with teachers having CCW at school than I am about liberal, socialist policies taught currently by most school systems.  

10-4 on that...

[jimster]

Well, I have a CCW and I didn't have to go through a mental evaluation, and nobody asks if I'm going to get pissed and shoot someone, so why do I get to carry around all kinds of people/kids and not a teacher? We could do "what if's" on everyone, then nobody would be able to carry anymore.  We've come a long way to have over 40 states open up CCW's the last several years, let's not go back to the way we were when only "certain people" could carry...that didn't work so well for me.  Should be all of us, or none of us.  As far as school teachers, maybe some extra training, fine by me, but they are the last line of defense.  There was some flak on letting pilots carry too, but I'd sure like my pilot to be armed.  If people who might be the last line of defense are all helpless, nobody goes home. 

[~Ace~]

The Most effective way to Stop people Killing other people... is to Shoot them, DUH !

The Most effective way to Prevent people from targeting Schools, is to have ARMED teachers !

Dale... why have 99% of  All Mass shootings in the last 10 years been in "Gun Free Zones" ? Duh... it's the Safest place to go kill Lots of people !

Ever hear of such a thing at Gun shows ? There are Thousands of guns ! An Armed society is a Polite society. Guns are used WAY more often to prevent crime than In crimes, and criminals FEAR Citizens with guns.

ONE Armed teacher in Columbine could have Quickly ended it, saving Many lives
ONE Armed teacher in Va  could have Quickly ended it, saving Many lives


Common Sense is Not very common.  

[beemanbeme]

Dale, your logic is twisted. You're asking why should teachers be allowed to carry guns? The proper question is why should teachers NOT be allowed to carry guns?  Why should they be set apart?
If you feel the teachers are mature enough and have enough intelligence to teach your children, don't you feel they are mature enough and intelligent enough to carry a piece? 

[Swampman]

Do you feel the teachers are mature enough and have enough intelligence to teach your children?

I don't, at all

I do feel they should be able to carry if they meet the legal requirements.  It will open the school (taxpayers)up to huge laws suits if someone gets shot by a teacher.

[Dee]

My view on this is very simple. Your line or work should not exclude you from carrying if your state allows concealed carry. If I were a teacher, I would not want the state to exclude me from carrying on the job. On any given day your local shopping mall likely acts as a day care center for kids of all ages. People who work in shopping malls should then be excluded because theres many kids around. Then we can make the same argument for many other lines of work as well. Kids are everywhere.

If you act like an idiot with a gun regardless of your line of work, you need to pay the price. Its self governing to me because the 2nd amendment is clear and violations of it should be clear and enforced.

The states have screwed around with the 2nd amendment and screwed it up putting more emphasis on restricting use by lawfull citizens and lessened the impact to those who violate. And our federal government has allowed states to out right violate this civil right time and time again.

I'm perfectly fine with any law abiding teacher who wants to carry a concealed firearm in the class room as long as they qualify under the law.

I completely and totally agree with this post. Excellent points cabin4

[magooch]

How would you like to be a school teacher in a big city high school without a gun?   

[oldandslow]

How would you like to be a school teacher in a big city high school without a gun?   

Personally, I wouldn't want to be a school teacher anywhere but I understand what you are saying. I think the school district got it right.

[crustaceous]

I bet more homework will be turned in on time

[Doublebass73]

Does the 2nd amendment exclude teachers or for some reason do we beleive teachers do not have the god given right to protect themselves like everyone else?

Well said cabin4. This simple fact seems to get lost in the debate on whether teachers should be able to carry at school.
The bottom line is any school or state that bans teachers from carrying is in direct violation of the 2nd Amendment.