Why limit it to teachers? What about movie theatre ushers and concession stand workers? Hotel janitors and the waitress who helps with the buffet? My Priest and altar servers need to carry. All the Target and Walmart employees.
I suspect that carrying a gun is among the things that many teachers definitely DON'T want to do. Reflecting back to some of the teachers I had while back in school...I couldn't imagine people like that with a gun. Heh, they'd probably be scared shitless of firearms. Securing the perimeter of a grade school shouldn't be all that complex. I think it's sufficient to have multiple armed (and if possible, inconspicuous) law enforcement combined with well designed logistics between the LEO and school staff to ensure proper patrol coverage of entrances/exits, etc. Especially if we're talking about bigger school grounds with multiple buildings, such as Parkland. I think Parkland only had one or two security personnel...that was obviously insufficient for that particular school. The tougher challenge would be doing it in a way so that it's very difficult for a current or former student (such as the Parkland gunman) to figure out the security plan and exploit any weak points in it. Cost and funding need to be considered, but when it comes to protecting our schools...spare no expense. Arming teachers is unnecessary and overkill. I'm even generally opposed to some sort of volunteer program to train and arm teachers. Even if the teacher had prior gun experience...there's still the question of proper psychological makeup and mental toughness while around a bunch of kids...and keep in mind that some kids are quite cunning and are very good and finding and pushing the right buttons to get under an adult's skin. And there's a possibility that she may mistakenly leave the gun in a place where a student can access it. Hell, plenty of teachers are forgetful and misplace pens, notepads, etc... Some students may actually feel LESS safe if a bunch of teachers were armed. TheFreak and bobrek also have a point here. There are a LOT of different sorts of soft targets out there. Concert venues, parks, many workplaces, malls, etc. I'm solidly pro-gun, but there is no reason for any civilian to legally own an AR-15 or similar style firearm.
It already is in most high schools. Yes there are multiple entry and exit points, but during school hours, most have secure lock downs with only one entry and exit. The high school I went to in Houston had metal detectors almost 20 years ago, so I'm sure its fairly easy to ensure schools have better metal detectors. In the FL case, I believe he waited till the end of the day when this school had already opened doors in anticipation of school letting out in 30 minutes. I expect to see most schools get more locked down about entry and exit times. At my wife's high school, where they could improve is being able to open doors from the inside too easily where someone can let you in, or you can tail someone that is leaving where you grab the door. I'm sure its a fire exit issue, but that issue could probably be solved. But yeah... most schools already have these in place, and there is supposed to be only one entry to the building with some form of security at that main entry point.
No need for cops to be involved at all. Teacher pops the kid, janitor scoops up the bits, and class is back in session. All this can be done in the time it would take the police to show up on the scene. Don't forget the guys running the Dead Sea soap kiosks at the mall. We'll save money on training, as most of them were probably conscripted into the Israeli military for 2-3 years.
The teachers can shoot the students too. You need arm students first, so they can defend. Lots of abnormal people in this country.
What this all boils down to is very simple. Kids (in this case) are being killed where they are supposed to feel safe (school) by guns. The obvious solution is to either get rid of guns or make it a whole lot harder to get guns (like in Canada), however a group of people are not willing to do that so they are throwing up any solution, no matter how absurd it is because it buys time for things to settle down and be like they were before. Arming teachers is monumentally stupid on many levels. First off, school is the place where children shouldn't need to worry about being safe. So lets introduce armed weapons into the equation. Second, teachers already have enough responsibilities actually TEACHING their students. Their job title is not security guard. Further, a lot of teachers do not want other teachers armed on campus. Last, there is the whole issue of liability when a teacher either shoots someone or a gun is stolen. The whole idea is stupid and frankly most of the conversations surrounding it are not sincere. Some people believe that thousands of people dying from gun violence, and a school shooting every 4-6 weeks isn't a large enough reason to seriously restrict or end gun ownership. Gun ownership isn't going to end in the USA so it is worthless even discussing. We will see if they get serious about true limitations or making it harder to own a gun like in Canada or in other nations.
This is the worst idea being tossed around in my opinion. I'd rather do nothing then to make this the "solution."
If you met some of my wife's students you probably wouldn't blame them. For this reason alone, teachers with gun access probably isn't a good idea.
Imagine some of these ridiculous youtube videos of school fights with a teacher involved. Throw a gun into the mix there. Good lord.
From what I understand, most CHLs are taught to fire as a last resort and not seek out the conflict. If this passes, it should be about teachers protecting their classroom while letting the SRO and other trained police take out the gunman. In a chaotic situation that's hard to identify the gunman, I'd agree that teachers should focus on protecting their classroom and students. As far as citizens getting involved in a firefight, I've heard more stories of citizens preventing further bloodshed than being mistaken for the actual suspect. The only false alarm I remember is the Dallas shooting where an open carry demonstrator properly gave his weapon to police without incident.
How about mandatory conceal and carry for everyone over the age of 18? That should solve any problem in this country.
Trump is still trying to stop Chicago's violence. Remember when he said "it stops now!" back when he took office. How did that work out? "No...really. I said 'it stops now'. Weren't you listening, bad people?"
Yes! what could possibly go wronger! I think I saw the movie "The substitute" tremendous film. Dangerous minds, 187, the substitute and high school high. No one was doing high school shootings and they had black people and eses and I suppose some good people!
I think the answer is to require all students, K-12 and college, to carry semi-automatic weapons. That way, the next sicko who wants to shoot up a school will know that he faces hundreds of armed students who aren't going to shelter in place, and at least a few of those hundreds will themselves be somewhat sick and already practicing their own shoot-ups. If our students are going to be regularly traumatized and damaged for life, the memories should at least be more exciting and have more of a narrative with protagonists and antagonists.
