Teachers may carry guns in Texas! OH MY

[Richard L]

Frank,

I think most teachers are capible of handing the typical classroom students. The problem is that one student who has no respect for any authority and was never taught basic rights and respect at home. Many students in Junior High and High Schools are much bigger and more of a threat to teachers and can be very intimidating



I heard about this new policy and think it is a good one, but it should allow the teacher to decide if they need a weapon for defense, and that they take a training class and qualify just like the Texas Consealed Handgun Law requires. I think putting a gun in the hands of someone who does not know how to use it, or is afraid to use it when it's necessary, is worse since you may be putting the weapon into the hands of the criminal who did not have one to begin with.



...Rich

 

[EddieS'04]

I watched it on the news last night. It will only be certain chosen people that will carry. Not everyone that chooses to. So as Richard L, said it will probably be a few that are qaulified to carry and trained to use.

 

[Aaron Lyon]

I don't personally have an issue with this but I think that a lot of things will change after the first time that a teacher has to use one.

 

[Les]

This has lawsuit written all over it !!!

 

[Johnny O]

IMHO the other thing that has lawsuit written all over it is when there is another shooting in a supposed "gun-free zone" or other place where guns are not allowed, and therefore law abiding citizens are not allowed to protect themselves. Some day soon I think a court will find that the school, university, whatever, in question, that IF they will not allow people to lawfully protect themselves then it is incumbent upon them do so and if they fail in that regard, then it's their ass.



For example, Cho killed how many people at the U of VA, but how could that happen in a place where guns are not allowed? Didn't he read the rulebook? You're not ALLOWED to carry guns there and shoot people, the college policy says so. What the hell is wrong with people that they don't read the rules?



My favorite challenge to the gun control folks is okay, so put a sign in your yard that says "This Is A Gun-Free House". No takers yet.

 

[L Roberts]

Les,



I am a teacher. Everything about the profession has lawsuit written all over it already, whether it involves discipline or not. As someone has pointed out already, disruptive students and their parents have the power now, and have had for a long time. We can be sued by those parents for "picking on" their children, or we can be sued by the rest of the parents for not protecting their children. Or both. Enough of the latter do not sue, or the government would have to become more serious about getting us some help with the former.

 

[Thomas Rogers]

JohnnyO said of the Northeast and Pennsylvania teachers:

Up here in the northeast they make TOO much money and the schools don't have any money left for anything else. On top of that, here in PA the pension windfall the governor gave the teachers' union is obscene

I don't think any teacher in the NE makes "too much" money. If anything, I think the teachers in NY and PA are paid about what they should be. Some school districts pay more, some less, all depening on the tax base and how how upscale and affluent the district (right or wrong, that's the reality of public schools).



I live in a very good school district in PA. The public school teachers in our district start out at about $36k/year, and rise to an average of $50k and upwards within a few years.



Some that have been teaching for many years can earn near $80k.



That's not too much, IMHO. Especially not when you consider:



- How important their job is.



- How well most do that job (most are excellent, again IMHO).



- How much extra time, and money they give for their students.



- How much schooling they had to get (4 year degree, plus).



My wife has gone back to school with a dual major/certification in early education and special education. She wants to teach a 1st or 2nd grade special needs class. Her education, on the cheap, will cost us well over $30k to get (she has gone nights and weekends), and we will have to pay for another year of full course credits for her to "student teach" for her first year, all for no pay.



When she gets out, and works her way up, she will be lucky to start at that $36k a year. For someone with a dual-cert bachelors and an associates degree in an unrelated field (medical assisting), that's not big bucks.



Teachers, by and large do a great job, and it hasn't gotten any easier in the past 30 years or so, which is about the same time that many parents stop doing THEIR JOB! The funny thing is that the parents that seem to value teachers the least are the same ones that aren't holding up their end of the bargain in raising their kids...or so it seems is often the case to me.



TJR

 

[Kevin Palmer]

As long as the teacher passes both shooting courses as well as an evaluation as far as the mental well being I am fine with it...

 

[EddieS'04]

TJR you are right on the nose there. My wife would agree.

The funny thing is that the parents that seem to value teachers the least are the same ones that aren't holding up their end of the bargain in raising their kids...or so it seems is often the case to me.

 

[Alan Peters]

I'm ok with it. Come to Detroit, MI, kids carry weapons to school everyday.

 

[user 62394]

I don't think that I would support it personally, but if the community wants that, they should do it. I am glad to see that they are limiting it to people with training. I would be all for armed security, which some schools have (Big Al, I'm in Detroit too. I don't want to walk those halls).



I would support teachers actually being able to discipline kids. I seem to recall getting spanked by a teacher when I was a kid. I deserved it. Didn't screw me up, made me better.



Rocks

 

[Thomas Rogers]

MTU said:

I would support teachers actually being able to discipline kids. I seem to recall getting spanked by a teacher when I was a kid. I deserved it. Didn't screw me up, made me better.

That's just not going to happen. Too many parents today think that their kids can do no wrong, and that if there is an issue at school it's the teacher's fault. They assume the kids are innocent. They also would sue the teacher and the school if the teacher ever hit their kid. Not all parents are like this, but many are. You know the type.



It's a stark contrast from when I went to school and the kinds of parents that were the norm then. My parents fit the stereotype. They assumed that if something happened at school I was guilty until proven innocent, and that the teachers were always telling the truth. If I got disciplined in school, regardless the type, I got it 10x worse at home. I would rather a teacher slap me up-side the head, and deal with the modest pain and major embrarrasment of the red-face in front of my classmates and they NOT TELL MY PARENTS, than the alternative. Most of the times that's what happened. Kids will be kids, even good kids, and teachers need to be able to control them AND when they can't be controlled bring in the parents. It seemed to rarely ever get that far back then...but now parents get called in all the time, mostly because teachers aren't allowed to discipline.



TJR

 

[TomT]

This has lawsuit written all over it !!!

This is America. EVERYTHING has lawsuit written all over it.

 

[Tom Schindler]

This is America. EVERYTHING has lawsuit written all over it.

That comment is not fair. I am going to sue you!





Tom

 

[Ryan Schaecher]

CCW, police trained and frangible ammo, I see ABSOLUTELY no problem with this. The Sherriff department is 30 mins away.



There was a discussion on this topic on Fox and Friends this morning, pitting the Texas Teacher Union big-shot libtard against the not-quite-so-liberal-but-still-liberal superintendant of the school district.



You want to talk about condescending..... holy cow... "he only has one school to worry about"..."hire a security guard".... "the law changes every time the legislature meets and this lopphole is about to be plugged"... blah blah blah.



If I had a child in this school district, the teachers were armed legally. Then, with the swipe of a pen a law was created to bar teachers from being armed and something happened at that school.... oh yes, there would be lawsuits. The Teacher's Union, any politician that voted for the legislation, the govenor who signed the legislation, etc. Yes, I am well aware of the fact that many would be tossed, but it would send a message.



What do the following have in common:

- Jonesboro School Shooting (I live in this school district, BTW)

- Columbine School Shooting

- West Virgina Tech Shooting

- Kansas City Mall Shooting

- St Louis Mall Shooting

- Dekalb Mall Shooting

- Omaha Mall Shooting

- Kileen Texas Restaurant Shooting

- Calixico California Restaurant Shooting

- Santee Caifornia School Shooting

- Lakeside California School Shooting

- Northern Illinois University Shooting

- Kirkwood City Council Meeting Shooting



All were located in "gun-free zones". Well over 100 people shot dead. Why? So some liberals and gun-haters can "feel" better and can say "at least we tried, we need stricter gun laws".



In Isreal, teachers are armed with Semi-Auto RIFLES and do you know how many school shootings there have been since 1970? ZERO.



All men over the age of 18 are required to have and maintain a FULLY AUTOMATIC, MILITARY-ISSUE RIFLE and atleast 200 rounds of ammunition in Switzerland. What's their crime rate? Yes, they are required to serve in the military, but what's the problem with that?



CCW holders are typically of high moral fiber and are typically well trained and know the law. In Florida for instance, in 20 years of issuing more than 1.3million ccw permits, less than 4500 have been revoked for any reason (165 have been revoked for crimes involving firearms). That's about .35% (1/3 of 1%) revokation and .0126% involved in crime.



CCW holders are abnormally more than likely to follow the law. More so that any criminal wanting harm fellow classmates or co-workers.



Let ALL teachers WHO WANT to carry, get the training, certification and all that is required to do so. Our schools are already a war zone in many places. Let's let the teachers and front line defenders do their job and protect themselves and others.

 

[Tom Schindler]

West Virgina Tech Shooting

West Virginia has a tech school? I think you mean Virginia Tech.



Anyways, a responable CC permit holder is not the one I am worried about. I carry a pocket knife (actually many times two or three) but that doesn't mean I will try to stab someone. Nor do I try to hit someone with my fist. Everyone is born with a fist.



As R Shek already said, a gun free zone simply says that all law abiding citizans will not be armed in this place. I see it as putting a sign in your front yard that says "No locks on doors".



Make those "Gun Free Zones" say "Illegal Gun Free Zone" and let it go at that. You bring a legal gun on premisis and use it for bad, you are illegal. If you are not licenced to carry a gun, you are illegal.



You got a permit, the proper training, and a law abiding citizan, you are legal to carry the gun.





Tom

 

[Ryan Schaecher]

West Virginia has a tech school? I think you mean Virginia Tech.

Yes you're right. My bad.



I saw an interesting picture taken supposedly during the Omaha mall shooting that showed the gunkid with a "gun-free zone" sticker on the wall behind him. It was probably photochopped, but I'll have to see if I can find it again.