withing Posted August 17, 2008 Share Posted August 17, 2008 It's true. I came across this story in my Google Reader, and couldn't believe it at first. But there it is. Me, I'm torn on this issue. There is a lot of school violence these days, and I've often wondered how many lives could've been saved if someone had just been able to shoot the shooters. However! Teaching is a stressful job, and what if a teacher (packing heat) snaps? It's a double-edged sword... What do y'all think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silver Posted August 18, 2008 Share Posted August 18, 2008 Good gravy. Should make the class size negotiations more interesting next year. I remember just bringing our own firearms into school for riflery and toting the cases from class to class and leaving them under our own desks or our teachers' desks (teachers' choice by classroom.) They never shot any of us despite ready access to big heaps of weapons. I'm old, apparently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SashaSue Posted August 18, 2008 Share Posted August 18, 2008 Good gravy. Should make the class size negotiations more interesting next year. I remember just bringing our own firearms into school for riflery and toting the cases from class to class and leaving them under our own desks or our teachers' desks (teachers' choice by classroom.) They never shot any of us despite ready access to big heaps of weapons. I'm old, apparently. No, you are not old! You are negligibly older than me, and I am young and vibrant, like Sarah Jessica Parker circa 2000, just w/out that great apartment, or all those shoes. More to the point, you are negligibly older than me, and guns were definitely not allowed at any school I ever went to. Nor at any school anyone I knew went to. So I'm wondering where you went to school? Thinking this is maybe more of a regional thing than a time thing. FWIW, I think the guns in school thing is a *terrible* idea. If the gun's somewhere easily accessible to the teacher, won't it also be easily accessible to any kids w/bad ideas? And if teacher is carrying the gun, won't any kids planning bad things know that, and be able to plan around it? Those are the least of my issues w/this. I think it's just a bad, bad, bad idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AirMarshall Posted August 18, 2008 Share Posted August 18, 2008 Maybe it will make kids think twice about "shooting their mouth off". a.m. p.s. I remember bringing guns into school as well, for refinishing the stocks and a little gunsmithing on the actions. Then there were the kids with status who could show off their old pickup trucks with the Easy Rider Rifle Racks in the window with room for not one, not two, but Thureee rifles of various calibers with maybe a fishing rod. *sigh* I didn't even have a car. heh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silver Posted August 18, 2008 Share Posted August 18, 2008 No, you are not old! You are negligibly older than me, and I am young and vibrant, like Sarah Jessica Parker circa 2000, just w/out that great apartment, or all those shoes. More to the point, you are negligibly older than me, and guns were definitely not allowed at any school I ever went to. Nor at any school anyone I knew went to. So I'm wondering where you went to school? Thinking this is maybe more of a regional thing than a time thing. Semi-rural west. Ditto Mr. S, who says, "We just put them in our locker if they fit, usually carried the long guns, til the coach got some funding my senior year for designated locker space in his office." We took them to shop class for projects, too, AM. I forgot about that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
withing Posted August 19, 2008 Author Share Posted August 19, 2008 I went to high school in California during the eighties, and can't fathom the idea of guns in schools - for the students or the teacher. We did have archery in gym though. They don't have that anymore - I think... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazynotstupid Posted August 19, 2008 Share Posted August 19, 2008 I didn't read the article but I have heard about what's going on. So... Just think about Columbine if teachers had carried. Think about, some time back, that megachurch (in CO?) where some guy tried to go on a spree BUT a (volunteer!) security guard stopped him cold. And then there's examples of teachers getting guns from their cars to stop student shooters... My question to you: why do you assume a teacher might snap? people that legally carry guns VERY rarely "snap"; statistics don't lie on that count. People that carry with a license tend to be the safest people around--when Florida passed the concealed carry law, there was no "wild West" like the opposition claimed there would be; rather, crime dropped, which was the whole point of the legislation. Point: legal guns stop crime. Period. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silver Posted August 19, 2008 Share Posted August 19, 2008 It's late, I'm tired and punchy, and all I can think of is: 1) the relatively poor performance of US schoolchildren in math and 2) "I know what you're thinking...Did he fire six shots or only five?" ...bedtime for Silver.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Velvet Elvis Posted August 19, 2008 Share Posted August 19, 2008 I don't know which idea I like less, teachers with guns or metal detectors every 50 feet in schools. What we really need to do is have mental health screenings in schools the same as is done for hearing problems. There were times in my early teens where if I'd had access to firearms in the home I'd have been tempted to go on a spree. I'm still amazed that nobody figured out how fucked up I was until I pretty much begged for meds when I was 17. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
withing Posted August 19, 2008 Author Share Posted August 19, 2008 I didn't read the article but I have heard about what's going on. So... Just think about Columbine if teachers had carried. Think about, some time back, that megachurch (in CO?) where some guy tried to go on a spree BUT a (volunteer!) security guard stopped him cold. And then there's examples of teachers getting guns from their cars to stop student shooters... My question to you: why do you assume a teacher might snap? people that legally carry guns VERY rarely "snap"; statistics don't lie on that count. People that carry with a license tend to be the safest people around--when Florida passed the concealed carry law, there was no "wild West" like the opposition claimed there would be; rather, crime dropped, which was the whole point of the legislation. Point: legal guns stop crime. Period. Like I said in my original post - I'm torn on the issue. I know that a lot of lives might have been saved had someone stopped those shooters earlier in previous shooting sprees. However, *anyone* can snap... anytime, anywhere - even licensed gun carriers. It doesn't take much nowadays. I'm all for people owning guns. This is the United States after all, and we have the right to. I'm just not certain that firearms need to be in the classrooms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stasis Posted August 19, 2008 Share Posted August 19, 2008 Never took a firearm to school, but, You could(and I did) Carry knives to a certain length, they had to fold too. Had I access to a pistol...... there were some people... I didn't need the Heat. We did shoot out of the kitchen window, with big guns. Del Norte County pretty primitive at the time. What's a little shooting? Looking back,they should have dis-armed us, futile gesture at best. Aaahh,speak to my inner-gunman. Stasis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stickler Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 If a teacher isn't sane enough to handle a concealed weapon responsibly, I'm not sure they're fit to teach. Kids are evil little buggers, esp.in high school, and you have to be able to keep your cool, no matter what. I think the "anyone can snap" myth is not really true...just a certain selected subset of people. Most murderers have prior records. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbit37 Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 Okay, this story doesn't give the overriding factor in this decision... the sheriff's office in this county is something like 30 minutes away. (I read this story elsewhere a few days ago, with more detail). Do you want a wild, rampaging student with no help on its way for half an hour? I don't think a teacher is going to snap, I think it's a great idea. I'm from Texas, and it's big wide open space in some areas, and having protection is just a necessity. In those areas, handguns aren't such a big deal. I think decisions like these are on a case-by-case basis. I might not agree in a highly urban area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stickler Posted August 22, 2008 Share Posted August 22, 2008 Excellent point. Nevertheless... I wouldn't be totally against the idea even in more urban schools, provided the requirements on the individual teachers were strict, possibly stricter than the regular concealed-carry permit, because of the increased potential for hitting the wrong targetin a crisis. You don't have to shoot all that well to get a concealed-carry in TX. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grousemouse Posted August 23, 2008 Share Posted August 23, 2008 It's late, I'm tired and punchy, and all I can think of is: 1) the relatively poor performance of US schoolchildren in math and 2) "I know what you're thinking...Did he fire six shots or only five?" hahaha! silver, that was a funny one! as for teachers carrying guns in schools, perhaps to protect the kids from other kids, i'd be curious to see the probabilities of kids being killed or injured in schools by gunfire relative to skateboarding accidents or bike riding accidents. grouse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbit37 Posted August 23, 2008 Share Posted August 23, 2008 <we protect our children with helmets and protective elbow and knee gear for bikes and skateboards> not that I'm arguing or anything... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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