I know how this is gonna go...

You know, I would actually be for this if they had to go to some sort of "emergency threat training camp" or something. I just think they would really need to monitor the weapons and make sure that the users were rational and could be trusted with such a large responsbility. Maybe have a certification and accuracy test, or something.

Jill, from what I understood, these people will have to have concealed carry license. That requires an accuracy test and a written test.

Mich - you are correct. Plus Jill it says they recieved crisis managment training, isn't that the same thing?

Concealed carry classes are no joke. They are full day or two day workshops. You need to learn about the weapon, the care of the weapon, the laws around the weapon, as well as the firing and accuracy parts. Then you need to take a test on it all.

Its not like you walk in and an hour later you've passed the class.

What I find very interesting is that VT has some of the weakest concealed carry laws in the union! You can buy a gun in VT and carry it with you wherever you go without ever getting a license or taking a class. Now THAT is crazy! How the heck did the libs up there miss that one???

While I am well aware of the threats from outsiders, I would not feel better sending my daughter to a school where teachers are armed. If that's the best this country can do for our children, we're in worse trouble than I thought.

do NOT get detention at this school!

I think this is a wonderful idea. Most the people I know already have a concealed handgun. And ,gasp, none of us have killed anyone or accidentally shot ourselves and our kids haven't either. We respect guns and their power.

Steph, what do you recommend for such a small, isolated school?

Also, odds are most of these children are being raised around and taught to be smart with guns.

i think they should build an electric fence, a moat, and eyeball and fingerprint scanners. that oughtta do it!

so did this school receive a threat? whats the problem with just having one security guard with a gun?

My only thought is in a school of 110, do we really think the "crazy" kids exist. I've always thought that the kids that eventually performed school shootings were the ones who were left out. In a school that small, it's hard to get left out.

The problem with an armed guard is that is one more person you have to pay and provide benefits for. If the teachers are allowed to carry, then they don't have to pay an armed guard.

UnDave, that's really not the case. Kids can be bullies no matter how few of them there are. Plus, some school shootings aren't done by students, but by random outsiders. Remember the shooting at the Amish school last year?

if you go to the original article and read the comments... whooo wheeee are those commenters dumb. it actually makes me appreciate you all for at least getting the story. everyone there is screaming on about "liberal aclu" types who have outlawed real discipline and are saying that the teachers are going to use the guns to threaten the kids! HAHAHA. idiots. i don't agree with this at all, but its clearly for protection from a school shooter/predator.

I think it is great. I would love to read, for a change, how a teacher took down some crazy-psychopath bent on killing as many students as possible before killing himself....before that dream is realized. I just think it is important the teachers wear their weapons rather than keep them in their purse or desk.

How many school shootings are performed by outsiders? I can only think of that one.

How many shootings do you need to concede your point?

UnDave, I don't know any numbers, but I think Jazz makes a good point.

Undave, coming from a small texas school myself and knowing quite a few others that have, sometimes the smaller the school, the worse the cliques.

Dave you've got to care enough about the kids to cough up for an extra security guard or two.
I would want to know if there is a special threat to this school or they've just randomly decided this is necessary. I don't see why the community that was goofy enough to put the children off by themselves can't find a way to either have security on site or have the sheriff's dept make regular patrols through the school area. School staff could have defense and negotiating classes that don't require guns.

that's a reactionary way to deal with a problem that doesn't stem from the barrel of the gun -- this starts somewhere else. mental illness, abuse, etc. protection is important - but we also need to look at the causes of these awful events.

Goofy enough? wow. Ever lived in the country steph?

honestly, why not just have metal detectors or a security fence? that would nip this problem in the bud.

All of your options sound incredibly pricey. This is an incredibly rural community. Most paying taxes their are farmers, ranchers, etc. There usually is NO extra money.

Yep, I have. And I know that it's possible to plan so that children are protected.

Steph, it isn't "goofy" to put the children "off by themselves". Maybe you're not aware, but not every place in America is a city. There are children living in extremely isolated, rural areas in this country, and they have to go to school too.

Yes, all the teachers should be taught karate.

Really steph, you've lived in a place where the nearest grocery store is an hour plus away? Texas country is unlike any other states country given our sheer size.

ahh, yes... school funding - good excuse, GS. too bad we place such a low value on it in this country! bummer. instead we have teachers in school districts too poor to afford modern protection systems and forced to carry handguns. SAD.

I think mental illness is something most people can't even detect and generally stimulated by abuse most people aren't even aware of. How can one control something like that? Even the wife of the mailman who shot those poor Amish children didn't have a clue.

"Dave you've got to care enough about the kids to cough up for an extra security guard or two."

I don't think one or two security guards is going to be effective. IMO, you'd need at least 10-15 to be effective. That's a lot of extras to pay. Not to mention that the same effect can be achieved by allowing the teachers to be certified and carry weapons.

What modern protections should they be able to afford?

ok, this is interesting. while i understand that teachers are the adults who are probably closest to an emergency situation in a classroom, i think that leaving weapons to security guards is the safest option. a gun in a classroom opens the possibility for tons of abuse (if ill-intentioned students find the weapon, it could end up on the streets or used against another student) and accidental violence.

Texas isn't the only state with wide open spaces.
And even in rural areas, people can think these things through so that the children and qualified people to protect them, aren't so far apart. And if the area is so isolated, how real is the threat? Not many school shootings have been in places way off by themselves.

dave -- i was talking about security gates/metal detectors/security guards.

That's why as I mentioned in comment 16 they should always have the guns on their person. Security guards are never around when you need them.

they should be guarding the entrances and exits. plain and simple. a kid would have to break through a window to get in... and if someone circumvents the entire entry/exit system and bombs the place a handgun won't do a thing anyway.

How amny exits did you have in your elementary school? In your middle school? In your High School? To have a guard at every exit isn't practical.

What is the difference between a security guard carrying and a teacher? If the problem is the gun in the school, then it shouldn't matter who carries. So therefore the problem must be WHO is carrying the gun?

Again, how many shootings do you need before you protect your children? The correct answer is "none". Even if you think they should have built the school elsewhere, it's already built and there's no sheriff close by.

Knowing that most of the students who are in college to become teachers are pansy liberals, I think I would have a problem with any of them having a gun....

Security guards are very expensive and like others have said, I'm doubting this school is rolling in cash. Chances are being in Texas that most of those kids have handled a gun and respect them, there is no mystery to them, so I doubt there would be a shooting there anyways.

But you can't deny the logic in realizing the utter stupidity of gun free zones aka sitting duck zones.

poison darts would be cheaper!!

cab I think when every teacher has a gun to protect every class is more likely to guarantee there will be a gun in the right place at the right time.

as a pansy liberal myself, i take offense at that statement. dave, you've really outdone yourself. time to run off to my weekend. enjoy, everyone!