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Guns in Schools

Some politicians have been getting a lot of press this week because of proposals to allow teachers and other school employees to become licensed to carry concealed firearms on school property. These proposals are a response to the recent spate of school shootings.

For example, in the SE Missourian:

In the wake of deadly school shootings around the country, Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt has suggested it would be worth considering proposals from lawmakers to allow teachers to carry firearms in schools.

Democratic legislative candidate Matt Hill, who is seeking to unseat Republican incumbent Nathan Cooper in the 158th District Missouri House race, has suggested that allowing teachers to carry guns could be a way to prevent school violence.

Hill said he has a license to carry a concealed weapon.

"Anyone qualified, competent to carry should be allowed to do that anywhere, including a school," Hill said at a recent candidates forum.

But local educators strongly disagree.

How about a courthouse? Schools and courthouses are among the places you can’t carry in Virginia, even with a permit to carry concealed. I’m curious to know how far Mr. Hill would be willing to take this. How about the Missouri House? I’d really like to know if he really means it when he says “anywhere”.

From the Qatar Gulf Times (wha?):

[Lassee] said teachers, principals and all other school employees would not be permitted to carry a concealed weapon on school grounds until they had passed a criminal background check and undergone rigorous training.

Well, teachers already have to pass criminal background checks, so that should be pretty easy. But the rigorous training part is the catch. It seems like a pretty reasonable requirement, but you know that many people won’t agree.

An editorial in the Toledo Blade uses the following language to describe the proposal: “wild-eyed” and “beyond absurd”. As is often the case, there is no point in trying to actually discuss the issue, because minds are already made up. As an aside, I've noticed that when the term "wild-eyed" is used in conversation, the speaker often has a wilder look in their eyes than anyone else in the room. I'm just saying.

Anyway, the editorial then says,

[Students] need secure learning environments and reasonable safeguards they can live with.

Hey, way to take a stand. The question is why these people think the learning environment in my classroom would be adversely affected by some heat under my suit coat. The answer, of course, is that they think that some deranged student will disarm me and use the weapon on other children. Of course, these same people generally hold this same concern about weaponry in parks, stores, restaurants, and private homes. The argument is no different, at the foundation.

One last note… Clark Aposhian, of Fair Warnings Firearm Training in Salt Lake City, addresses the skeptics who say that we shouldn’t be making teachers into cops:

We are not turning teachers into cops any more than we're turning them into fireman because they have a fire extinguisher in the room and are expected to use it and to evacuate the building. We're not turning them into doctors because they know how to and are expected to perform CPR and basic first aid. (link)

That's how I feel.