Very interesting.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080815/ts_nm/texas_guns_dc

HOUSTON (Reuters) - A Texas school district will let teachers bring guns to class this fall, the district's superintendent said on Friday, in what experts said appeared to be a first in the United States.
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The board of the small rural Harrold Independent School District unanimously approved the plan and parents have not objected, said the district's superintendent, David Thweatt.
School experts backed Thweatt's claim that Harrold, a system of about 110 students 150 miles northwest of Fort Worth, may be the first to let teachers bring guns to the classroom.
Thweatt said it is a matter of safety.
"We have a lock-down situation, we have cameras, but the question we had to answer is, 'What if somebody gets in? What are we going to do?" he said. "It's just common sense."
Teachers who wish to bring guns will have to be certified to carry a concealed handgun in Texas and get crisis training and permission from school officials, he said.
Recent school shootings in the United States have prompted some calls for school officials to allow students and teachers to carry legally concealed weapons into classrooms.
The U.S. Congress once barred guns at schools nationwide, but the U.S. Supreme Court struck the law down, although state and local communities could adopt their own laws. Texas bars guns at schools without the school's permission.

you watch the liberals jump on that.. but it makes sense to me..

Thank God for some common sense school administrating. Only in Texas, huh? Well 1 District, 1 State at a time!
Greg

I saw that on another forum today. Glad it's getting around. Isn't it nice to read good news? Thanks for posting it.

Maybe it will start a trend.

Imagine "how things could have been different", had a teacher,janitor, or principle been carrying when those two cowards shot up Columbine?

This sure makes good sence to me. I have two kids in school.

Cheezywan

Hindsight is always 20/20.

I watched an interview with the head of the school board or principle not sure who exactly he was but he carried the pro side very well.

The interviewer tried as hard as he could to really put a negative twist to this but was countered with extremely common sense responses that carried the interview very well for the pro side.

I am so sick of the emotional lieberal fear mongering that the anti's are always pushing... :(

Tom Gresham had Superintendent Thweat on Guntalk last Sunday. You can hear the interview in the 2nd part of the first hour from the mp3 file here: http://media.libsyn.com/media/guntalk/080817guntalkA.mp3

I'm from the UK, it's very interesting to see this! As most of you will be aware (or perhaps not, but I'd have thought so!) we had a psycho named Thomas Hamilton shoot up a primary school in Dunblane in 1996.

Our response was to ban all legally held handguns. We in the shooting community knew this to be utter nonsense, but the public thought it the right idea and the government always panders to such crap.

I find it very interesting to see a response in the US which is 'give the teachers guns for defence'. Does it make sense? Probably, but it's a sad world where people see it as a necessary step.

Still, I'd rather that than losing handguns - trust me, you don't know JUST how much fun it is until it's gone!!

no but im thinking we may very well find out..so many that i meet at the range arn t even aware that it might be important to vote this time .. if never again. in fact theres many, don t even realize the threat is there..mabe it means that gun folk in this part of the country are just not the type to consider politics a thing thats part of thier world..im a tad the same way.. but this is a time for anyone who enjoys shooting to adjust an step up to the plate..i try an do my little bit,, an steer conversations in that direction ,,without being accusatory..gun folk don t like to be pushed either..

I'm not so sure it is a good idea. An invironment where there are guns brought into the classroom (regardless of who has them, teachers or students) will not be a good environment for anyone. I am a librarian, and I carry a handgun for protection when I am out in the "world", but I never carry one when I am in the library. Having a gun in my pocket in that sort of controlled, enclosed invironment seems to be begging more trouble than it promises to avoid. Yes, I know, "if a teacher at Columbine had had a gun, etc, etc. . . " But school shooting are still a rare enough occurance that arming teachers might be an over-reaction. Besides, go on youtube and search for teacher student fights and be prepared to be shocked. Plenty of these teachers and students were plenty mad enough, if either had had a firearm, it would have become often a teacher student shooting instead of a teacher student fight. I think arming teachers will increase the number of school shootings, not decrease them.

Who and how would train these teachers? There is no budget for that. heck, most public schools can't afford to pay their teachers a living wage or even afford books. Just allow any teacher that has a carry permit to walk around in class with a fanny pack? I think when you begin to get into the specifics of such a project, it begins to look more and more dangerous.

Arming teachers is trying to close the barn door while the horses are running through it. The problem lies in the breakdown of families and homelife for far too many american teenagers. Just my two cents. --Mykal

There is a simpler way to go about this. Just make schools the same as any place else. If someone has a permit carry concealed, they should be able to in a school.
That "GUN FREE ZONE" crap just needs to go away. That way, the bad guys can't know for sure that thier victoms will be unarmed.

Cheezywan

My first point is that of TRAINING. Who is going to train these teachers? Is it going to be a STATE SANCTIONED TRAINING? What would make a teacher MORE QUALIFIED than a retired law enforcement officer who has devoted his life to law enforcement. What other profession other than law enforcement, allows a single person to be JUDGE, JURY AND EXECUTIONER -------all in the blink of an eye. Believe me, some of these life and death decisions are made in the "blink of an eye"-----------some regrettable, fortunately most are not. So, please tell me, what would make a teacher MORE QUALIFIED THAN A RETIRED LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER? How about an "active" law enforcement officer, for that matter?

When the teacher goes to school, one question should haunt that teacher every day-------DO I TEACH STUDENTS TODAY, OR DO I TAKE A STUDENT'S LIFE TODAY, Or PERHAPS INJURE AN UNINTENDED VICTIM???

In Wisconsin, we retired law enforcement officers are NOT ALLOWED TO CARRY CONCEALED WEAPONS. Unfortunately, we are one of about only four or five states that DO NOT ALLOW THAT. So, then the political question: Why allow teachers to carry a concealed firearm when even though some may be a hunting buff and some actually good with firearms, when law enforcement officers cannot? Keep in mind, that beyond the cursory safety issues concealed carry, are legal issues and long experience in dealing with the law, in the case of law enforcement officers.

Yes I'm old , that being said , when I was in school I kept a 270 remington in my locker for after school shooting competition as did many other kids and we never had a problem . I guess those were different days but I can say that had a whacko come into our school his chances of leaving alive were slim to none .

Think every state that issues concealed carry permits require a pre-training course before issue. At least, all that I know of.

All this could be avoided if parents would exercise their parental responsibilities to curb their kids and exert some discipline at home. Allowing kids to gang up and wander the streets shows a lack of care on their part. Permissive raising of children just breeds arrogant behavior and rebellion by teenagers. Home parenting with strict standards would end the problems facing our schools today.

This comes from a parent that raised 3 law abiding children to maturity because of home responsibility.

The answers to questions of whether the teachers will be trained, by whom, etc., are answered in the interview linked in this thread. If anyone's wondering about that, I invite them to listen to the interview.

Several states don't require training before they shall issue their permits. Frankly, that's not odd. If training is not required to purchase or own a firearm, what kind of sense does it make to require training based upon the visibility of the holster used?

As to retired LEOs, I expect that I diverge from the opinions of many here. I think that retired, of itself, invites several questions as to capability, etc., based purely on probabilities and statistics. Those may not apply to any given individual, and an individual assessment/qualification/test/whatever can determine that. I don't like the concept that retired LEOs can carry concealed forever, just because of their status at some non-specific time in the past. That makes absolutely no sense to me at all IF the other citizens of the state in question must take additional steps. I say this as a person who, under state statute in my state, am apparently exempted from obtaining a concealed weapons permit in order to carry concealed.

I tend to fall more in line with Cheezywan's post here. In any event, I think there's a huge difference between teachers carrying vs. an armed guard who may be an ex-LEO. In fact, that has been proven. I have no idea whether this approach would be prudent in every single school in the country at this very moment or not. What I'm thankful for is the freedom to make that determination locally rather than having a knee-jerk nationwide reg that forces the issue either way completely across the board.

Think every state that issues concealed carry permits require a pre-training course before issue. At least, all that I know of.

All this could be avoided if parents would exercise their parental responsibilities to curb their kids and exert some discipline at home. Allowing kids to gang up and wander the streets shows a lack of care on their part. Permissive raising of children just breeds arrogant behavior and rebellion by teenagers. Home parenting with strict standards would end the problems facing our schools today.

This comes from a parent that raised 3 law abiding children to maturity because of home responsibility.

So far, I have raised my kids to be law abiding good citizens. On the other hand it was not a hard job to do with them. I still see kids everyday that turn out bad. What is a parent to do? As a parent our options are limited to time out and time out. If you take a paddle to their rear end, you will have some goob from child wellfare services knocking on your door and having you before a judge for child abuse.

I know this from a friend of mine that had a bad 16 year old son. He tried to keep him straight when he was younger. Untill oneday his son made a comment to someone about getting his tail tore up. That is when the goob showed up and hauled him off to jail. A few years later his son was in trouble and before the judge. The judge wanted to hold my friend responsible for his sons actions. That set off the firestorm. He spent 3 days in jail for telling the judge that if he wanted someone to be responsible for his sons actions, he could take that blame for telling him that he could not paddle his sons tail years earlier. It is a no win situation for a parent today. All that we can do is hope for the best.

Scottg: I agree parents are in a tough spot. There was that case of a Canadian parent being sued (succsefully) buy their child becase the parent wouldn't allow them to visit a chat room such as myspace. The judge decided it was a violation of the child's rights. More liberal, politically correct crapt that is destroying society.

Both parents and teachers no longer have the power - both have to please children or risk the consiquences of a liberal press and liberal judgement.

And the sad part is, children (under the age of 18) WANT a parent to teach them the boundries, even if they will deny it. They don't want a "buddy". They want a parent to show them love by showing them the boundries. They want there fathers and mothers to be strong.

The answer is not arming teachers. The answer is giving power back to teachers and parents both, by backing their decisions, which may include a smack on the fanny.

--Mykal

I agree 110%. All 3 of my kids are in high school now. My girlfriend has a 5 and 7 year old. They live with me and my 3. Their daddy was not a daddy and did nothing to help my girlfriend with showing right from wrong. I have taken up that role now with them. The 5 year old girl has an anger problem and we do go round and round. She gets her tail tore up sometimes too. The cute part is that there is not a morning that goes by when I am at home that before she leaves for school, that she don't come and give me a hug and a kiss. I can honestly say that I can see that she wants someone to give a **** about her and teach her right from wrong. The 7 year old boy is the same way. My girlfriend has had very little problems with them since they moved in with me.

I don't keep it all serious either. They may throw a fit and I will take and hold them down and tickle them and play with them and in 15 seconds, the crying and whinning are over and they have forgotten what it was that the fit was about. LOL.

Scottg: the daughter gives you a hug because, despite fighting with you, she appreciates the boundries you've set. Parents show they care about a child by discipline (fair and intelligent, of course) and NOT approving or allowing behavior that would harm them, no matter how much they complain. Love is hard and never comes easy. Parenting is the toughest job in the world, in my opinion. You have to have the strength to be hated sometimes. In the long run, though, they will eventually understand that your disipline was love. --Mykal

I think if a teacher has been through the training and feels comfortable carrying then they should do so. My daughter will soon be going to school and I would feel better knowing someone can protect her in case some nut job decides to come in to her school and start shooting.

Gun free zones are a joke in my opinion. All they do is disarm the decent folks and allow the cowardly criminals to know exactly where to go if they want to jump a completely defenseless population. No sane person wants to ever have to use their defense weapon but to have our 2nd Amendment rights stripped because of location is just stupid.

I would assume part of the advantage of teachers being armed is the potential deterent effect on any young boy/girl planning on coming armed to school with evil intent.....similar situation to the decrease in violent crime in states that honor the right for concealed carry in public.

Like Billy Joe, I ran a trap line in school and the ole pistol I used to carry to school in my pack is still working...of course, it is a bad pistol now.....and taking one anywhere near a school is a serious crime....so what changed? Maybe it was hollywood..
I am all for the NEA being required to take a concealed carry course and to be licensed...this would be one educational course for most of them....and could do a lot to further the 2nd amendment cause...of course...it will never happen...

:cool:This is a good thing. I have been advocating this for YEARS!:cool:

There is a simpler way to go about this. Just make schools the same as any place else. If someone has a permit carry concealed, they should be able to in a school.
That "GUN FREE ZONE" crap just needs to go away. That way, the bad guys can't know for sure that thier victoms will be unarmed.


The above is from my #13 post. I think it makes a difference in "how bad guys think"?
"If I were a criminal", and I am NOT! I would FEAR an armed citizen more than a COP. Badge and uniform is a dead givaway to most of there ilk.

"Bad guys" like to keep us guessing. I "prefer" to return the favor.

Cheezywan

Amen Chezy.:cool:

My first point is that of TRAINING. Who is going to train these teachers? Is it going to be a STATE SANCTIONED TRAINING? What would make a teacher MORE QUALIFIED than a retired law enforcement officer who has devoted his life to law enforcement. What other profession other than law enforcement, allows a single person to be JUDGE, JURY AND EXECUTIONER -------all in the blink of an eye. Believe me, some of these life and death decisions are made in the "blink of an eye"-----------some regrettable, fortunately most are not. So, please tell me, what would make a teacher MORE QUALIFIED THAN A RETIRED LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER? How about an "active" law enforcement officer, for that matter?

When the teacher goes to school, one question should haunt that teacher every day-------DO I TEACH STUDENTS TODAY, OR DO I TAKE A STUDENT'S LIFE TODAY, Or PERHAPS INJURE AN UNINTENDED VICTIM???

In Wisconsin, we retired law enforcement officers are NOT ALLOWED TO CARRY CONCEALED WEAPONS. Unfortunately, we are one of about only four or five states that DO NOT ALLOW THAT. So, then the political question: Why allow teachers to carry a concealed firearm when even though some may be a hunting buff and some actually good with firearms, when law enforcement officers cannot? Keep in mind, that beyond the cursory safety issues concealed carry, are legal issues and long experience in dealing with the law, in the case of law enforcement officers.

Why should I have to be trained by the gov't or it's pawns to be able to protect myself? No one has to pass speech class in order to maintain their right to free speech!

I teach in Florida. I have been told that I can't carry my 2" Schrade folder legally. I have carried a knife for about 40 years, and use it daily(until lately). I like being "heeled" in some way, but in my state if a student brings a gun, he might be suspended. If I am caught with a knife, it could be my job.

Strange, is it not?

Ric

It is strange, Gator. But the gun control crowd continually defies all logic. Expecting anything different from them is just setting yourself up for disappointment. They completely ignore statistics about the effectiveness of their wonderful programs and keep pushing their agenda. All the while their agenda keeps leaving innocent people defenseless in their own homes and often times injured or killed. All you have to do is look at DC, Chicago, San Fran and Detroit. The fact there is even a debate about this shows our ignorance (meaning nationwide - not on this forum of course).

It's a sad thing for teachers to have to arm themselves. I agree to a point, but have you ever met anyone who has the right to own but not the mental horsepower to correctly handle one? I know people who flat out scare me with a firearm, and they're not criminals! I just hope an armed teacher does not leave the weapon in the desk and a child find it. It's a real possibility.

I straddle the fence on this one....

YAY Texas, If the crazys don't know who has guns, they are les likely to show themselves..
But it all goes back to mankind not wanting to be responsable for their actions....Loss of moral right and wrong.