This Can't Be Good

[Syntax]

Article Link: http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/08/15/gun....ap/index.html

HARROLD, Texas (AP) -- A tiny Texas school district will allow teachers and staff members to carry concealed firearms to protect against school shootings, provided the gun-toting employees follow certain requirements.

The small community of Harrold in north Texas is a 30-minute drive from the Wilbarger County Sheriff's Office, leaving students and teachers without protection, said David Thweatt, superintendent of the Harrold Independent School District. The lone campus of the 110-student district sits near a heavily traveled highway, which could make it a target, he argued.

"When the federal government started making schools gun-free zones, that's when all of these shootings started. Why would you put it out there that a group of people can't defend themselves? That's like saying 'sic 'em' to a dog," Thweatt said in a story published Friday on the Fort Worth Star-Telegram's Web site.

Barbara Williams, a spokeswoman for the Texas Association of School Boards, said her organization did not know of another district with such a policy. Ken Trump, a Cleveland, Ohio-based school security expert who advises districts nationwide, said Harrold is the first district with such a policy.

Trustees approved the policy change last year, and it takes effect when classes begin this month. For employees to carry a pistol, they must have a Texas license to carry a concealed handgun, must be authorized to carry by the district, must receive training in crisis management and hostile situations and must use ammunition designed to minimize the risk of ricocheting bullets.

Officials researched the policy and considered other options for about a year before approving the policy change, Thweatt said. The district also has other measures in place to prevent a school shooting, he said.

"The naysayers think [a shooting] won't happen here. If something were to happen here, I'd much rather be calling a parent to tell them that their child is OK because we were able to protect them," Thweatt said.

Texas law outlaws firearms at schools unless specific institutions allow them.

It isn't clear how many of the 50 or so teachers and staff members will be armed this fall, because Thweatt did not disclose that information, to keep it from students or potential attackers.

[paintba||er]

It's a good thing IMO. Well in some ways. The right should not be exclusive to the staff though. And in reality, it's illegal for them to prohibit anyone from taking their guns anywhere...But the constitution doesn't seem to mean anything...

[Syntax]

I still think it's a bad idea to allow teachers to take guns to school.

[paintba||er]

Why? It tremendously reduces the chance of a mass shooting. Because basically anyone can get and bring a gun. That's not hard. But if they know that everyone else has a gun, then they're less likely to try to use one. And if they do, then they can be promptly eliminated before many people are injured..

[Syntax]

I'm sure that those who plan to go on a shooting spree do not care about their well being.

[paintba||er]

But they do care about how many people they can take with them. And that number is drastically reduced if they are likely to be shot instantly.

[Erotika]

or the teacher might go on a mass shootage, cus they just get pissed at the trouble making students.

[Canadian Gamer4]

Why not just hire security, last thing you need is a untrained teacher holding a gun... with the possibility of a student taking it.

[Erotika]

orr let them carry something less lethal like a tazer or a beanbag gun or summin like that

[Canadian Gamer4]

Petition to bring back the paddle?

Psychos get guns, teachers get guns
psychos get rockets, teachers get rockets
psychos get atomic bomb, teachers kill their students for them and flee the country.

No one wins

[paintba||er]

Originally Posted by Erotika

or the teacher might go on a mass shootage, cus they just get pissed at the trouble making students.

But the other teachers are there to control them. Of course, as I mentioned before, the students (and everyone else) should also have the right to carry weapons. Then there's little chance that the staff would try anything.

Originally Posted by Canadian Gamer4

Why not just hire security, last thing you need is a untrained teacher holding a gun... with the possibility of a student taking it.

If they want a gun then they can find one pretty damn easy anyway. So it doesn't make a lot of difference.

Originally Posted by Erotika

orr let them carry something less lethal like a tazer or a beanbag gun or summin like that

That's going to be helpful when someone has a real gun.

[Imonati]

a tazer would be..