I've said for years that there should be a "Tasers for Teachers" grant program somewhere.  Of course, I've always said it tongue in cheek.  When it comes to a student or parent weilding a gun, a taser isn't going to do me any good.  Someone's going to die, whether its a student, and administrator, or myself.

I teach in a public elementary school.  While I worry about school shootings, its not like I lose sleep over it or anything.  With all of the millions of students and staff in schools, the odds of dying in school violence is very slim.  I worry more about dying in a plane crash than I do in a school shooting.  The best thing I could do in a school shooting is lock my classroom door and hide my kids the best I can.  Or get them out the window, if possible, and there's no perpetrator outside.

I've handled all kinds of guns, and shot them.  I know how to use them, and I respect their power.  And just because I know how to use one doesn't mean I think it belongs in a school.  I've got twenty kidlets to worry about in every way.  I'll do the best I can to keep them safe in an emergency, but I don't want a gun ANYWHERE in our school at ALL.

Well it has worked everywhere it was tried. Take weapons away from people and only the bad guys have them. In states where people can carry weapons, crime is low.

In Great Briton they banned handguns. Crimes with handguns dropped like a rock. Today they boast seven to ten murders a year by handguns. On the other hand murder by bludgeoning, and stabbing with kitchen knives went up so the murder rate stayed the same just the tools are different. So you now have a choice die by gun, kitchen knife or cricket bat. By the way the end result is still a dead person.

Let me see if I understand your point. You supposedly trust the teachers with your child or children. (I don’t) but you worry because they have firearms to defend those children they are charged with instructing? This I would do. In my opinion most teachers are idiots that can’t pass the testes of the grade level they teach.

The ones that are worth a darn as teachers are also responsible enough to be trusted with my child or children. Those are the ones I want with a gun because they would rather die than see or allow my kids to be hurt. The ones that are like you, afraid of guns, but not like you in the fact that they also seem to be afraid of having an opinion of their own, are the ones I fear. So if this is voluntary for the teachers you will see the ones worth having will also be the ones packing iron. They will also be the ones less likely to be having sex with my kids and having my children’s kids.

This opinion of mine is based off of fighting school boards and having taught grades four through six. People who own guns and have a job that carries with it the fiduciary obligation of that job usually are responsible enough or at least understand the responsibility of taking care of someone else’s children.

Does this better answer your question?

Paladin is magical. He was a teacher. He's a battle-hardened Marine. High level government official. His daughter had an abortion. He has lurid affairs. You name it, if it helps him make a point, he is or was it or has first hand experience with it!

LOL, you are really nice for even bothering to discuss anything with him, Boudica.

It only works if the packers have training in the handling and use of the firearms. Same with tasers. A weapon in the right hand can save many lives. In a child's hands, it will only end up with more dead. Without training, the teachers (and pilots) may as well be children.

Charles:

Did you see this:

You know...the part where it says "tongue in cheek." Like I'm kidding? Sarcasm is a wonderful communication tool, and you should learn how to use it.

As the husband of a teacher working in Texas I can honestly say that I completely agree with eveyone of your anti-gun sentiments in relation to my wife so long as I now get to decided the security level of your loved ones. Deal? Oh, no? Of course not because the liberal zeal for self-rightousness rarely permits truly considering any alternatives to their close-minded ways. Listen, debate amongst yourselves all you would like and do all of us in Texas a favor; stay out. We have low crime and more tolerance than any of the previous 10 states in which I have lived. We are fine with you removing your children from these schools and moving to whereever you would like because it is likely that yours' are the ones causing the mischief due to their complete absence of moral parental direction. Don't worry about us, we'll take care of ourselves just fine... like we always have and always will. By the way, if your a college student on this post, I forgive you as I know in 10 years you will learn the error of your ways, now go play your little computer games.

Now that you have made some sweeping assumptions and separated us "close-minded, liberal zealots" who should stay the hell out of Texas if we disagree with you...let me throw a couple of assumptions back at you. Not informing us of your wife's qualifications to tote a piece into school, I will assume she has received enough training to carefully consider when and when not to pull her piece out and engage a shooter...background, innocents in the line of fire, how to draw that bead under fire and insure she can hit what she thinks she is pointing at. That is almost as big an assumption as the ones you made about the folks you are addressing here. Without that level of training, your wife or any other teacher anywhere, is as big a threat to innocent kids in her school as any evil-doing shooter would be. Since I am not sure where in Texas you hail from, I don't know if you are putting my grandchildren in jeopardy or someone elses'. As for your counsel to remove our kids from your wife's line of fire, makes more sense to me tho remove Annie Oakley than to make dozens of kids depart. "Absence of moral parental direction"...giving us permission to have an opinion in this...your arrogance is awe-inspiring.

I do believe having guns in school might deter some of the shootings, maybe, like I said before...lets consider carefully WHO gets to carry and who shouldn't. Texans are an independant lot, wonder how they will react when the first innocent child gets knocked down by an overly zealous response from a unqualified teacher?

Only when you agree with me are you qualified to have an opinion.   

Sorry, had to throw that in there it was just too good a setup to let it pass.

Folks its a debate people will have opinions and there are no facts to argue yet. chill!

In the right time frame, it is normal.  After all, "gun toting teachers" were the rule, not the exception 150 years ago.