Nevada Lawmaker Says Teachers Should Have Firearms
State Senator Bob Beers believes guns in the hands of highly trained, law-abiding citizens can serve as a deterrent to criminal activity, and what better place to stop crime than in the classroom, he told the I-Team in an exclusive interview.
Should school staff in Nevada be allowed to have concealed firearms in their classrooms? Would that promote a safer environment for students?
What do you think?
Categories: Politics
December 13th, 2006 at 5:54 pm
Being a former Marine for 10+ years with combat experience and a current teacher for 3 years I would not trust some of the teachers with weapons. I do believe that people like myself who have been highly trained and know how to seperate threats and immediate deadly threats could be effective but a short course on hitting paper targets will not do the trick. Also, would teachers that carry firearms get higher pay for even more responsibility? If they, meaning the legislature, can not give teaachers a descent raise how would they justify paying teachers for carrying firearms? Would a teacher get a paid leave as a police officers do if he/she discharges a firearm? And lastly, who would pay for the weapon to be carried, the teacher, the CCSD, or the legislator(taxpayers)?
December 13th, 2006 at 9:30 pm
I think that system is already in place but from being a fromer high school student here in the valley I honestly think we should have more than 3-6 cops a school. And teachers are just as crazy as the students. I honestly wouldn’t trust a teacher with a gun, Think about it for a second the gun is in the classroom, a kid throws a piece of paper and makes the teacher snap.These kind of situations I worry about. I also agree with the statement “where are the guns going to be stored” As a former tech service and repair student I had access to keys, so I could fix computers in classrooms, what if the wrong student gets ahold of a pair of keys, Or a student wounders around the school and finds the arsenal? I think its a good plan but it needs to be thought out.
Might as well throw in Bomb sniffing dogs while they’re at it.
December 13th, 2006 at 11:20 pm
Mr. Beers is a prime example of a misguided individual. I would and will continue to support the Professional School Police and Las Vegas Police because they are the ones that successfully found and seized these weapons. Children obviously are not getting the support from the family teaching them about the dangers of weapons at schools.
Teacher need to teach, Police need to Police and let them protect and teach our children as they are trained to do.
December 13th, 2006 at 11:21 pm
I think State Senator Bob Beers is nuts. First of all, comparing us to Isreal is crazy. We are entirely different in every aspect. To give firearms to teachers and bus drivers (even if trained properly)is ridiculous. To explain is hard, but to listen to his explanation. He just doesn’t make any sense. There are other alternatives that are much safer. Who is to say a teacher or a bus driver would not turn that gun on students or other drivers? The power of carrying a gun just might be to much for some people to handle.
December 13th, 2006 at 11:22 pm
I agree that our children would be safer if preditor’s feared adults could defend against them.
I am using the term preditor to mean anyone that might cause harm to others using a weapon.
December 13th, 2006 at 11:23 pm
I have just watched the newscast about Senator Bob Beers’ proposal about teachers having guns in school. I am a special education teacher in the district, and I believe that this proposal would take us farther from the solution than closer to a solution. I personally am not a person who would feel comfortable carrying a firearm, even if I was trained to do so, around my studnets, and I also could not use one against a student. That responsibility belongs to the police and other law-enforcement agencies. I am from Colorado, and I remember Columbine very well, I lived about 60 miles north of Littleton. I don’t see how any would have come in that situation if those teachers had had guns. What happens if a teacher shoots and kills a student, even if he/she did have a gun? Even worse, what happens if a teacher shoots the wrong student, or other students get caught in the crossfire? I know that the police and SWAT are trained, not only in how to use guns, but also how to use them and keep a level head with those weapons, in high stress situations. There is no way to completly train teachers in all of that. This is a ridiculious proposal, and would only make the problems worse. The real solution to violence in the schools, as with so many other problems, needs to start in the homes, where children first begin learning. Kids don’t find guns in schools, they bring them to school from somewhere else. Putting guns into the schools, even if they are in the hands of the adults, is not going to solve the problem.
December 13th, 2006 at 11:45 pm
I have to respectfully disagree with Senator Beers. I don’t think having concealed weapons will deter anyone. Mainly because it is concealed, so how could it. I also don’t believe weapons should be allowed in school. I was always taught not to point a weapon at anything you don’t want to kill. Would any teacher want to take a chance at killing a student whether the student is carrying a weapon or not? Either way it is still a child. Would they want that on their concience? Money would be better spent on metal detectors at the door to keep weapons out of schools.
I believe a better way to keep weapons out of school is to put more training and education into the schools aimed at the students and what affects weapons have on not only students, but all family and friends that are affected by the outcome of weapons. Put money into education to teach the students that schools are not the place for weapons. Guns don’t kill people, people kill people. Education is what separates us from animals, and is what the true purpose of a Teacher is for…Education not security guard.
Shawn
December 13th, 2006 at 11:46 pm
Tell me true, is Mr. Beers joking? He wants to train teachers to carry guns in school and train them better then Police. Next he’ll want them to have bullet proof vest, stop lights in the halls and DNA test to go to the restrooms. Mr. Beers, train and pay the teachers better and leave Policing to the Police Professionals. Get it Police Professionals!
December 14th, 2006 at 1:13 am
Arming teachers has been proposed in other states before. As an NRA Instructor for personal protection, pistol, rifle and shotgun disciplines, I am all for ANY firearms education and training for those who would desire it. The key is training, training and more training.
I recently have worked for 2.5 years in a firearms store that does the CCW and Armed Security training as well as qualifing Ex law enforcement for HR 218 (the law that allows ex cops with many years of good service to carry in all states if they can shoot well enough). The store also did a great deal of shooting with tourists. Many of those tourists were either current or ex military and law enforcement.
I have seen firsthand many times that being in the military or a cop does not guarantee that one knows how to handle and use a firearm safely. Many times ex cops have failed the shooting qualification for the HR 218. Believe me, it is not that difficult. Generally, I feel safer shooting with people who learned firearm safety when they were very young (10 years old or under is best) and are hunters. People who learn to use firearms as adults rarely comprehend and practice muzzle discipline.
As with the airline pilots, with the proper training and committment, this could be a successful program.
As to Barbara Buckley’s comments about teachers wanting more books than the ability to protect themselves, ask the teachers who have been assaulted on school grounds recently how they feel. One of the local news programs recently interviewed a teacher who was so frightened, she was crying and her identity was concealed.
The 2nd amendment, if it had not been bastardized by the courts, would make this discussion moot. If I have a need to carry a firearm to protect myself, I will. I will also learn to use this tool to the best of my ability so that no one is needlessly endangered. I will be aware. I will do whatever is necessary when someone else decides to do grave bodily harm or worse to me or someone else.
With proper training and mindset, this could work. Not all teachers would want to go through the process and some would fail, however it is a good idea and should be pursued furthur.
Thank you Bob Beers for introducing this legislation.
December 14th, 2006 at 6:31 am
no this is wrong. but i do agree that there should be metal detectors at very entance door to all schools. and more security for sudents and teachers as well. but far most we need to help are children to be safe and learn and have a good time doing it. so maybe we all should think about it. but i sure would feel safer if my child had metal dectors at every door and more security on and around the schools. i hope somebody will bring this to attention and get it done asap.
December 14th, 2006 at 6:41 am
I think training capable teachers to carry firearms is an excellent idea. I personally know many ex-military teachers that could do this with no problem. We already have our childs lives in their hands so trusting them is not an issue. If a situation breaks out and the police is not around this would help. In this day an age you have to think out of the box, this definately is out of the box, but would be effective.
December 14th, 2006 at 6:43 am
I think it’s a good idea to arm fully qualified teachers with firearms. I’d be willing to bet that there would be fewer incidences of these stupid kids taking guns to school if they knew that most of his/her teachers were “armed and dangerous.”
December 14th, 2006 at 6:50 am
I’m tired of California and California’s attitude seeping into our Vegas Life. If Nevada wants to do this, it should be allowed to. Teachers armed with CCW should be allowed if requested and properly trained. Not for everyone though. Not sure if I like the idea of resposibility in the teachers hands for Negligence and Accidental Discharges.
Big difference from “just” teaching. Now, you have to be aware of your weapon and it’s rediness condition and also keep it from distracting students.
I say let them carry, If they want to.
December 14th, 2006 at 7:04 am
I was a school counselor for 30 years here in Las Vegas so I must say this–You have to be kidding, teachers experience emotions of all sorts, it is a profession of feelings, good most of the time. Like people do,teachers, administrators, and other staff sometimes react emotionally when things go wrong, a gun around school would result in extreme resolution to temporary problems more often then they would be used to protect the innocent.
December 14th, 2006 at 8:08 am
I was a school bus driver, PTA President, went on to Rainbow council, and sat on the floor of the state legislature in Carson City. I do not believe Teachers should have to carry gun’s in school. I believe Las Vegas needs to stop the growth and address the lack of infastructure. Things were not this out of hand befor we became over 1 million & counting strong. Students could easily overtake a teacher if they wanted to It’s 1 against ??. If the growth stops or a moratorium is placed on the growth for a few years till we get caught up, things may be different here. Way too many messed up people have moved here and have no interest in their children.(14 thousand children need presents for Angle tree?)Which leaves us all at risk. If kids ‘violent’ video games,media, movies and lack of parental guidance continue. Things will get worse, in my opinion. Stop the growth & deal with what is going on; & our lack of water too. We live in the desert.
December 14th, 2006 at 8:26 am
NO! NO! NO! I am a gun owner and as such i am comfortable with any firearm, because of constant practice and teaching. You need to feel comfortable and secure when you handle a gun. When you put a gun in a teachers hand, who has gone through many years of education to teach your child, now you depend on him to be handy with the steel? Come on! It should be the parents responsibility to know what the heck their children are doing and where they are going. If your child seems angry at everything and you think hmm.. something just doesnt seem right with him. Maybe you should check it out a little more. It doesnt hurt to take a kid to any doctor (or psychiatrist) just to make sure he doesnt harm him self or any one else.
December 14th, 2006 at 8:28 am
How stupid! All teachers are law-abiding citizens? Has he lost his mind? We thought postal workers were law-abiding citizens too but where the heck did: “going postal!” come from? So now, if we follow Beer’s advice, we entrust our children to gun-toting teachers? I think not! And you citizens voted him into office! Shame on you! I would recommend a psych eval immediately!
December 14th, 2006 at 9:02 am
I cant believe senator Beers could say something like this – arm our teachers? If gun violence is so rampant – why not punish the parents who have their guns unlocked and accessible to their kids? By arming the teachers we are treating the symptoms of the problem and not the cause. Increase penalties and fines on gunowners so they will be more responsible with their weapons. If we arm teachers, tomorrow we will arm nurses and then whose next?
Sanj Sukerkar
‘Concerned Citizen’
December 14th, 2006 at 9:38 am
Are you kidding me?I have five children in ccsd,two in high school,one in middle and two in elementary.As I recall I did not sign them up for military school,or do I think they should be expected to learn and development in an armed boot camp.I can see the headlines now,Johnie get a gun shoots teen because he thinks the cell phone is a weapon.Bob Beers recently chaired a law that went into affect concerning officials at sporting events.In twenty years of coaching and participating in children athletics I have never seen anything like it.We have had officials say”You will not win and you can not talk to me or look at me and thats to bad”They want their money and want to go home.Where do the kids fit in on all of this?Sounds to me like Bob Beers is out for protecting the big guys and the kids,my kids,will just have to suck it up.The few incidents that have happened do not warrant guns in schools and frankly I am disgusted that the school district spent money to even investigate.At Coronado high school there are students without seats,they sit on counters and don’t have enough books,and faculty are spending money to go to Isreal…I feel like saying ,are we being punked.Enough is enough,we need leaders that care about children and education.Not some out of touch politician that wants his name on paper.It is past time for parents to have a voice.Here is an idea,why don’t parents start at home.Lets find out where and what our kids are doing,who their friends are and know where they are at,(at all times).I have happy,healthy teens who get good grades and play sports and they know they have borders.No guns,no weapons,no Bob Beers!!!
Thank you
Mom IN GV
December 14th, 2006 at 9:49 am
no disrespect intended, but he has had one beer to many. quit wasting the state’s resources and time with such stupid ideas. this country is bad enough as it is, don’t make it worse.
thanks
December 14th, 2006 at 9:50 am
I’m a former Military Officer and current full time firefighter here in the valley, so I have both carried a firearm and seen what they can do.
I feel allowing teachers to carry a concealed weapon on campus is a very sound idea. One needs only to look to the Columbine massacre. How many students and teachers would still be alive today had one of those teachers been legally allowed to carry a firearm? Yes we have 1-2 school police officers per school, but how long will it take them to respond? Schools are very large places, and even if it only takes them 2 minutes to get to where the trouble is, 2 minutes is a very long time when you are in a situation such as Columbine.
I know guns in a school is a scary thought to many people, but lets be realistic. If we have a school shooting here in Las Vegas, especially one on the scale of Columbine, the school police WILL NOT be able to stop it in time. They may save some lives, but children will die. What happens if the shooting starts in a classroom? We all saw how well hiding in a classroom worked in Columbine. All it did was corner the victims.
One need only to look at all the various states where concealed carry laws have been passed. Shootings have not sktrocketed, they have gone down.
In short, I feel that teachers, after recieveing proper training, should be allowed to carry a weapon at school. If your child is ever trapped in a classroom when some wacko walks in and starts shooting, wouldn’t you want their teacher to be able to effectively stop the killing – rather then sit there and hope they don’t get shot.
December 14th, 2006 at 10:01 am
If kids want to shoot someone at school, then they will. There is nothing that can be done. We do the best we can with the ideas of metal detectors and keeping school police well in sight and in mind. But guns? Suddenly, you have an angry student that doesn’t have to bring a gun into school anymore. They can just take one from a teacher. If someone wants something badly enough, they’ll do it, at any length. What we’ll have is MORE school violence, especially against administration, not less. Let’s keep our schools weapon-free.
December 14th, 2006 at 10:03 am
It seems there is some confusion about what this law is intended to do. It doesn’t look like it’s going to make carrying a firearm mandatory for teachers, so all you hand-wringing teachers can calm down about that, you can remain unarmed and defenseless if you choose. However, those teachers who realize that they are the only ones responsible for their own safety and no government agency can guarantee that safety may carry once they complete training. Tell the teachers who locked themselves in the library at Columbine that having a gun would do them no good. The comment by the teacher’s union about choosing between salaries and textbooks vs guns is a complete red herring. There is no talk of the district paying for anything, let the teachers take a ccw course on their own dime if they want to carry, but allow them to defend themselves. Courts have ruled over and over again the police have no duty to protect you as an individual. If something happens on campus they’ll respond and try to make it there in a “reasonable amount of time” but don’t count on them being right there when little junior goes postal in the hallway. We’ve all heard over and over how understaffed they are, as well as every other law enforcement agency in the valley. If something happens to you on campus, when they finally get there, they’ll write a report as they stand over your corpse.
December 14th, 2006 at 11:03 am
One thing many people don’t seem to realize is that there are those of us out here everyday who carry firearms that are not Police. There seems to be an assumption that Mr.Beer’s proposal would be the indiscriminant arming of unqualified individuals. Teachers and faculty who have been properly trained and licensed by the State to carry a concealed weapon are currently PROHIBITED from exercising the right to defend themselves and the children they care for. Legally armed parents are also prohibited from carrying weapons on school grounds. Drug dealers, child molesters, murderers and other assorted criminals are likewise prohibited from carrying weapons, but since only law abiding citizens obey the law (imagine that!) it is a redundant point.
The feel good legislation that prohibits the carrying of weapons by law-abiding citizens creates a zone where only evildoers will have them.
The root problems in society need to be addressed, but in the meantime measures must be taken to secure our children. Allowing teachers who have the confidence, skill, training and licensing to go discreetly armed is no more ridiculous than turning outr schools into prisons.
December 14th, 2006 at 11:30 am
It’s a persons constitutional right to bear arms. What if your child was killed in a school shooting? A teacher who is highly trained and capable of defending their students may just save your child’s life! We’ve asked these teachers to teach our children. Part of that teaching includes discipline and respect. If a student is upset at a teacher due to discipline and attempts to harm that teacher, I would hope that teacher would be able to save his/her own life.
December 14th, 2006 at 11:39 am
Letting teachers carry is an excellent idea. Kids are gonna bring guns to school no matter what, if they think they have a chance of getting shot back at they will think twice. Right now they know schools are gun free from law abiding citizens. They don’t bring guns to school to get in shootouts, they want power over unarmed victims. I don’t remember any stories of people walking into the NRA HQ’s and shooting up the place or any police stations, or even a shooting at a gunshow.
December 14th, 2006 at 12:10 pm
As a former military and civilian employee in an armed capacity, with what is acknowledged as some of the best training in the world for the use of firearms in a close quarters situation under stress, i can see arming teachers, bus drivers and custodians, as an incident waiting to happen.
The one situation that no trained person is going to reliably come out of well, is being out numbered or SWARMED by some small group, that know who is carrying, where they carry and when they are alone. This situation will always result in a once unarmed group, having passed thru detectors or a multi layered security system, to gain access to a firearm, or several, inside the secure area, any secure area, where everyone now has the sense of ease.
SPEND MONEY TO SECURE THE SCHOOL, PREVENT WEAPONS FROM COMING ON CAMPUS, IN ANYONES POSSESION, AND AGGRESSIVLY PROSECUTE ANY VIOLATION. THE ACT OF BRINGING A WEAPON TO AN INSTITUTION, OR ON A SCHOOL BUS, IS A SETUP FOR MISHAP, UNDER ANYONES POSSESION.
December 14th, 2006 at 12:47 pm
Beers is off his rocker on this one. Jail guards don’t take guns inside because the inmates might get ahold of them…and the very fact that I am phrasing this in jail terms is a pretty good argument that guns and schools don’t mix.
The mindset of a teenager (if the adults can do it, why shouldn’t I?) means that teachers just being allowed to have guns will only encourage more guns in schools. Never mind training or whether the teachers actually do it, just having the law on the books will encourage more guns.
I had a lot of respect for Bob Beers until now. He has a tradition of grandstanding like this to start a debate (and get his name in the news).
It was Beers who initally proposed a tax rebate, and he has come up with other ideas like cutting fuel taxes and
car registration fees.
All of those were signs of a public official who wants real change. They were worthy of debate. This one, Bob, is just nuts.
December 14th, 2006 at 2:05 pm
This isn’t wasting resources. It will cost no money. It isn’t a law to arm teachers. It isn’t a law to make teachers into police officers. It isn’t a law giving teachers any rights that they do not already have outside of school property. It isn’t something to directly discourage students from bringing a gun to school. It would give teachers who already have or are willing to obtain a CCW license the ability to carry concealed in school just like they already can outside of school property. It is just a law to give teachers the means to defend themselves and those around them(our kids) if the situation warrants it.
Concealed. That means hidden folks. They won’t become targets for the students or for anyone looking for a gun. Why? Because, it is concealed. No one will know that they are carrying unless they make the mistake of informing someone. If they show the gun off while they carry it or threaten a student with it that is considered brandishing the weapon and it is illegal.
It is a wonderful idea. For those that question its usefulness….I remember reading about one of the school shootings within the past couple years that ended when the principal ran something like 1/4mile away to his parked car to retrieve his handgun. He returned and held the shooter until the police arrived. During the time it took for the principal to retrieve his legally stored pistol two students were shot and killed. If they didn’t ban guns on school property a few years before the incident he would have been carrying his pistol or had it in his vehicle on property instead of 1/4 mile away. He just may have been able to save those two lives. I do not have a link to the story handy but I am sure some of you remember it and for those that do not you should be able to dig it up without too much trouble if you doubt it.
So far we have a bunch of “what-ifs” from people here. “What if the teacher gets mad. What if they mistake a phone for a gun.” These things do not happen outside of the classroom to CCW holders(some of which are teachers) so why would it happen inside the classroom? Is the fear of the unlikely really enough to take away our freedom to protect us from the possible? Here are some facts for you:
People with concealed carry permits are 5.7 time LESS likely to be arrested for violent offenses than the general public.
People with concealed carry permits are 13.5 times LESS likely to be arrested for non-violent offenses than the general public.
Source: (http://www.gunfacts.info/)
People have been predicting shootouts in the streets ever since states started to allow concealed carry again and it hasn’t happened anywhere. People who are willing to follow the legal channels to obtain a CCW license so that they can carry are law abiding citizens. They are not the ones you have to worry about breaking laws. Taking freedoms away from law abiding citizens is not the answer. The ones you have to worry about are the ones that illegally buy a gun off the street for $50 and conceal it without obtaining a license. Those are the criminals. If we do not have law abiding citizens arming themselves there will be no one to protect you from these criminals. After all, police respond to crimes AFTER they happen. They are not going to prevent them.
December 14th, 2006 at 2:30 pm
Are you crazy…teachers carrying guns?? What’s next…I can only imagine. Do they really think that students are going to think twice before bringing a gun to school. This only fuels the fire and would give them (the students) a reason to bring a gun to school. I think this could be handled in a much better way. Like installing metal detectors on all school doors and increasing the pay for campus police so the too can recuit more people and help stop these children before the make it to the class room.
Come on, do you really think if teachers were “strapped”, Colombine would have been prevented? I think not!
December 14th, 2006 at 3:27 pm
Ok, Mr. Beers is nuts. I thought this was the new West, not the Old West. What we need is fewer guns not more!
December 14th, 2006 at 4:12 pm
The money he is planning on spending on this ludicrous plan could be better spent on adequate supplies for our schools. Not to mention the obvious safety issue. There’s not a mother in this county that would let this fly.
December 14th, 2006 at 4:31 pm
As a parent of a student in this school system, who will properly train these teachers? TEACHERS!! They are not military personel nor qualified police officers. When the day comes that a teacher has to pack heat is the day our country has gone to hell and the day I will remove my child from this system. Where are the parents and why are they not being held accountable for their own kids? THE PARENTS ARE AT FAULT, NOT THE TEACHERS!! How do not know your kid has a GUN? A and B students of the chess club are not interested in SHOOTING PEOPLE.
Go ahead, let teachers carry guns and sue me for keeping my kid home.
December 14th, 2006 at 5:12 pm
As a first grade teacher, I can’t even fathom the degree of fear brought into our children’s lives if teachers hold a gun. I for one will never hold a gun in my home, let alone my classroom. How can children learn if they are in constant fear, knowing there is a gun in the room? Also…what kind of security are we to give to these guns? Who will pay for them? Who will pay for the training? Will teacher’s have a choice whether they want a gun in their room or not? Can teachers vote to not have this policy, or will it be forced upon all schools? If this proposal goes any further than a proposal, you can count my vote against it.
December 14th, 2006 at 5:45 pm
I am always amazed by people who think no but themselves can cope with responsibility. Where do they think cops come from? Many teachers would be able to find employment in law enforcement if they so wished. I have worked in both education and lawenforcement and find no noticable difference in the maturity department. Proper training and education would be more than effective. If you look at the statistics a cop is far more likely to commit a violent crime than a teacher is. The most basic human right is the right to self defense. Why is this not true regardless of your location if your a law abiding citizen. Can you control for all incidence? No. Could someone get a gun away from a teacher? Sure. If someone comes to school to target people they know are helpless will they kill helpless people? You bet. It is also a fact: ARMED PEOPLE ARE ABSOLUTELY SAFER FROM ATTACK.
December 14th, 2006 at 6:50 pm
I think that allowing teachers or staff to carry guns is absolutely crazy. After all, who’s to say that they wont misuse their new found authority. The reason why I say this is because a couple of month’s ago my son and his friends got attacked about an hour and a half after school had ended and he was called up to the deans office the next morning to discuss it. After they discussed it she told him to write a statement about it, which he did. After he was done she was not satisfied and forced him to write additional information that did not happen and was untrue. When he refused she threatened him by telling him that if he didn’t write what she told him to then she would call the police(metro) and have them arrest him. He did not agree until he turned his head and saw the police walk up to the office. So naturally he did what she told him to. Now, what if she had a gun? Would she have scared him with it or threatened him with it? And who’s to say that other teachers or staff would misuse their new found authority? Even worse, what if a student got a hold of a teachers gun? How safe will our kids really be? All I know is if clark county allows teachers to have guns I will not allow my kids to attend school in clark county. I will either home school them or just move out of Nevada all together. This is how strongly I feel about allowing teachers to have guns. This is not the solution, just more to be concerned about.
December 14th, 2006 at 6:52 pm
As a former CCSD employee, I have to make my points. Arming teachers, if well trained and I mean trained beyond what is required fo a concealed weapons permit is a sound idea.
Saying that school police are there to protect the students is just as stupid in thinking that police are guaranteed to protect us. As much I respected the CCSDPD, they are security officers with powers of arrest. I was a Campus Security Monitor and felt helpless because I had no weapons for defense. All i had was some useless and poorly taught self defense tactics taught by the district. Teachers and staff being armed is a good idea if and I mean IF they get training that applies to this. Students couod care less about the law or the 1000 feet “Gun Free School Zone” law which is a federal law. It would be much cheaper to allow teachers to carry than to have metal detectors at the entrances. Metal detectors would require more money (which is not available), more staff with hand held detectors (also more money) or a larger airport donation (those of you who work in security or administation know)For all of you anti’s, move back to Kalifornia
December 14th, 2006 at 10:37 pm
Hi,
I just like to point out, if armed people protecting school children is not the answer, why are our politicians surrounded by a veritable swarm of armed people? If armed people arent’ the answer, then strip politicians and public buildings of armed guards. If they are the answer, strip them any way and put them in schools.
As for the possibility of an “incident”, so what? A meteor might hit the school. A plague could break out. Some one might get a hangnail. Deal with it.
It is a fact that armed people stop criminals in their tracks – citizens hit 3 times more often the LEOs, and they kill perps more often. This mindset of de-escalation is a failure in the face of suicidal attackers/molesters – they must be neutralized as soon as possible.
Ralph
December 14th, 2006 at 10:56 pm
i think it’s a good idea. a gun free zone is the best place for a bad guy, no worries, he’s the only one that armed.
December 14th, 2006 at 11:01 pm
also, gun safty should be taught.
December 14th, 2006 at 11:13 pm
I have been a teacher here in Clark County for 19 years. I teach Secondary Education. If I have to choose to use a gun for protection in my classroom, I will quit teaching. I feel that I influence students to communicate in other ways beyond violence. Arming teachers will only increase students bringing arms to school. Right now I battle wits…which I’d rather do than firearms. Give me students with a desire to be educated to rise above the use of guns, and I will continue to teach. I want my students to feel safe in my classroom. The presence of a gun will not approach that goal.
December 14th, 2006 at 11:31 pm
Mr. Beers should be removed from office base on his mindset or lack of. There are a lot of incidence on our school campuses that involved crimes against administrator vs. administrators, administrators vs. Teachers, Teachers vs. teachers, Teachers vs. students, and all the above vs. parents. Just imagine the teacher, staff, or administrator accused of inappropriate behavior with a student. Now that person is armed.
December 15th, 2006 at 12:19 am
I think that arming teachers with guns is the most ridiculous,stupid,craziest thing anyone could ever find as a solution. Bob Beer is crazy to think that,that is the best solution. These are students, not inmates. It is very ignorant to say that students will learn this way, by arming teachers. So what? If the students are bad,or show up at school with a gun,Bob is pretty much saying,just point the gun at the student? There will be chaos. What person in their right mind would ever agree with this? God help you people who agree with this. Do you parents really want to put your kids in that kind of environment. The best solution I would say,would be to enforce school police. If the school district wouldn’t be so cheap,and just pay the school police what they deserve and find a better way to budget their money instead of spending money stupidly,like the school would rather buy guns for the teachers instead of budgeting their money wisely and paying for school police.
December 15th, 2006 at 12:49 am
I don’t know who Chief Garcia was talking to in Israel but the teachers do carry guns in the schools and the bad guys know it. This started after several terrorist attacks on Israeli schools where many children were murdered. The teachers and some parents started carrying guns to protect the schools and after they stopped a couple of attacks by killing the terrorists without any students getting hurt the terrorists decided to go after easier targets. As for the Chief’s comment about the guards being ex-military, hey, Chief, EVERYONE’S EX-MILITARY THERE, INCLUDING THE TEACHERS!
So far in the US two school shootings have been stopped by school officials who went out to their cars, got their guns, returned and confronted the shooters WHO THEN GAVE UP! Maybe we should try something that works rather than rely on just saying “Guns aren’t allowed in schools.” We can all see how well that’s working.
December 15th, 2006 at 1:54 am
I bet teachers would get the respect and reverence from those punk kids in their classes if this were the case. As it stands now, public schools are out of control being run by people who favor being politically correct over providing (with our tax dollars) an environment that promotes healthy competition, disciplined students, and some similance of a work ethic. Nowadays, if a kid gets in trouble in school or makes bad grades the parents want to wonder what the hell is the teacher’s problem instead of looking at what the hell is their problem as a parent or what the hell is wrong with their lazy, worthless, good for nothing, never amount to anything punk kid who wants to run around school acting like they are on a street corner hanging out with gang bangers dealing drugs (that’s the new American dream thanks to Hollywood, the music industry, and the blame white America crowd).
December 15th, 2006 at 4:03 am
I whole heartly agree. These people who say to prosecute those that bring firearms on campus are idiots. Those that bring firearms on campus don’t care about being prosecuted. That is is the whole point. They don’t care about breaking any laws at all. They are not law-abiding citizens, that is why we call them law breakers. They are only there with a firearm for one reason only, and that is to kill. It is about control, and if they know they can’t get control with a bunch of armed teachers in the way, they will look for an easier target. The Second Amendment is about controlling Tyranny, whether it is on our streets of America or through our own Government. If we block the Second Amendment in any form, then you loose control of your society because only thugs will rule. Just read the news, and you can see how much control we have lost in our society through these idiotic laws.
December 15th, 2006 at 4:31 am
I have had military training(combat MOS), been thru a federal law enforcement academy and have taken numerous classes in firearms in the private sector. The best training is in the private sector. Guns prevent crimes when carried by lawful, trained citizens. Arming the teachers is the best way to safe guard our kids.
December 15th, 2006 at 4:34 am
I have had military training(combat MOS), been thru a federal law enforcement academy and have taken numerous classes in firearms in the private sector. The best training is in the private sector. Guns prevent crimes when carried by lawful, trained citizens. Arming the teachers is the best way to safe guard our kids.
December 15th, 2006 at 5:01 am
Arming teachers is wrong. You are sending the wrong message to the children. If there is such a bad problem then the teachers need to be examined to see why the children want to carry guns in school. Hell, lets give everyone a gun. Cops set an example in the Vegas valley that they can shoot someone and get away with it. It happens almost every day and now you want to give that same permission to teachers. What have the cops done and Senator Beers about to do.. Nevada is already a police state. I carry a gun to protect me and my family from the cops and I will use it.
December 15th, 2006 at 5:58 am
Remember the days when school violence wasn’t a problem? I do, and the most notable difference between now and then is that the children weren’t being given psychiatric drugs. The most crucial step to take if we want senseless school shootings to stop is to get the psychs and their drugs out of the schools. Whether teachers are armed is a much less important issue — and if they are, they sure better not be taking any psych drugs themselves.
December 15th, 2006 at 6:01 am
I think the Senator is right. I’m a 25 yr veteran of the US Army Special Forces with a very large training in weapons and counter terrorist activities. First of all you DO NOT STORE LOADED WEAPONS, you carry them on your person at all times. By the time the police respond to any situation it is normally over and there is nothing to do but clean up the mess and start looking for those responsable.
Police officers in this country make the lousist counter terrorist group that you can imagine. Let’s face facts, a student with a gun bent on harming others at school, is a terrorist. The terrorist is/are planning to die and take as many as they can with them. The first thing the police in this country do is run right up to the individual, with their guns drawn saying “Stop, game over, get down, ect” Then 4 to 10 of them will surround the perp and he blows them up along with himself. OOPS! now for sure the game is over.
Train all those teachers and Admin types willing/able to use firearms to save themselves and/or others on How to use, shoot and clean the weapon, When to use the weapon, How to conceal the weapon(s) and remember NEVER give up your weapon for any reason. Then they will make a difference.
Robert
December 15th, 2006 at 6:17 am
Putting more guns on campus in the possession of administrators is NOT the answer to curb the problem. All a student or group of students have to do is overpower their teacher or administrator and take away their weapon. Then the real trouble begins, and we can blame it on the individual who came up with this asinine proposal. Are you serious with this proposal, Mr. Beers? Do you even take your job seriously? Yet you wonder why you didn’t have a shot in the dark at becoming the governor of this state. Adding weapons to an already volatile problem is not the answer. What needs to be done is this: the CCSD needs to attract more recruits to their police department with higher pay and benefits, that way the CCSD can finally have at least one officer assigned to every school district-wide. More police presence will deter criminal activity.
December 15th, 2006 at 6:20 am
what about stun guns or mase instead of firearms?
December 15th, 2006 at 6:20 am
I think it’s an excellent idea. Better to be prepared as an individual than to rely on the government to keep you safe.
December 15th, 2006 at 7:11 am
I dont think anyone should have guns at school. All schools should install metal detectors.
December 15th, 2006 at 7:31 am
The Israeli’s have done it for years. When they started training teachers in close combat and issueing fully automatic assault rifles to teachers and administrators, the terrorists that had been preying on schools suddenly started blowing themselves up with bombs in public places. The cost to results ratio wasn’t good enough to warrent school attacks any more. I wouldn’t give a gun to just any lamebrain teacher though! If you’re afraid of a gun, get therapy! If you aren’t afraid of in-antimate objects and could defend yourself and your charges (the children), Get trained and tell everybody in the country! Then see how many attacks happen in YOUR school!
December 15th, 2006 at 7:40 am
Laws only apply to the law abiding.
the schools are NOT gun free, only legal gun free. look at the other school shootings, all have stopped once the shooter got shot back at. CCW laws have reduced crime every time they have passed. the schools should not be a safe work area for murders. all they are now is a target rich enviroment
December 15th, 2006 at 7:57 am
Just yesterday after my children were exiting school six kids, four of which I can and will identify today at their school threatened my two boys. One of the children even threatened to “shank” one of my sons today. No where in site was an officer for our protection. Though a large crowd gathered around us, not one adult, teacher, or officer were present for us.
December 15th, 2006 at 8:14 am
You might now start to think that the socialist state of formerly free USA has some serious issues.
If teachers can carry guns to school, then students can carry Bibles to school, talk about God, pray, and refute evolution in science class.
No ten commandments, no condemnation of murder. Our society sucks because liberals, like the ones at your news station, screwed it up beginning in the 1960’s.
This is why we need school vouchers. Wouldn’t you agree Clark County School District? Or maybe it is Clark County Satan District.
December 15th, 2006 at 8:16 am
A teacher who can not be trusted enough to responsibly own and use a firearm certainly can’t be trusted to have custody and control over my children for 7-8 hours each day. I have no problem with any teacher who 1) chooses to be armed, and 2) gets and maintains the proper training, keeping a concealed handgun on his person while in the classroom.
December 15th, 2006 at 8:26 am
Teachers should be able to be teachers. Security falls to security people. Hire more security guards for the school if you must, but please don’t put teachers in that position. Like it or not, the makeup of teachers and security people are two different personalities. What makes you think the teacher, who has a caring, nurturing personality (otherwise they wouldn’t be in the business),would be able to become a strong, aggressive, security person who is trained to remove emotions from a situation? Does Senator Beers believe HE should carry a weapon and become security for the Senate?
I’ll bet not, and he’s dealing with adults!
December 15th, 2006 at 8:28 am
I can see it now… a student pulls a gun and a teacher fires back in self-defense, possibly saving the lives of other students in the classroom. What happens next? The parent of the criminal gunman spends the next few years suing the school and the teacher, playing the victim, eventually winning hundreds of thousands of dollars. Nothing good can come of this. Please, Bob Beers, give me a break!
December 15th, 2006 at 8:37 am
Great Idea. This is the only thing that would make schools safer. Adding school police to every school does the same thing, adds more guns to the campus. If teachers are armed then if a Colombine type school shooting was to happen, a teacher would be the first to be able to respond.
December 15th, 2006 at 9:16 am
Pick which of the following is always the LAST to arrive at the scene of a crime: the vibtim(s), the criminal, the police.
Obviously, the police are the last to arrive. The only thing that stops someone with a gun bent on inflicting bodily harm upon others is someone else with a gun, who knows how to use it. Why wait until several students and teachers have been killed waiting for the police to arrive with the guns?
December 15th, 2006 at 9:22 am
The police chief and dept are not realistic. State and federal laws have not prevented kids bringing guns to school. They also seemed perplexed about where to store the guns. How about on the trained person’s person? Isn’t there were concealed weapons are concealed.
As far as those who just want teachers to teach, teachers have always been enforcers – in the 50s the offenders were gum chewers, now they are armed.
We know that concealed weapons are the ONLY way to stop a violent crime in progress (cops show up to take the report after the fact). Why not have some trained teachers armed? Look for those with military, police and firearms experience. They would be much more likely to prevent or stop another Columbine in progress.
December 15th, 2006 at 9:36 am
First off does Senator Beer come from the northern end of the state? I can’t help but wonder if he has oxygen deprivation of the brain. Arming teachers is NOT the answer to the problem. It will only compound it. I do not believe the majority of teachers would be willing to shoot someone. Ergo, someone could take the gun away from them and use it on them and other students. All this “idea” would do is put more guns in schools. That would make schools 1000% more dangerous to both students and staff. Turning society into an armed camp is NOT the answer to our problems.
December 15th, 2006 at 10:01 am
The question isn’t whether or not law abiding citizens should carry firearms wherever and whenever they want, thats garanteed by the 2nd Amendment. However, its been so abused by the clintons, the pelosis, the shumers, the kennedys, the boxers, etc that the real meaning has been lost to some people.
The real question is would you like your child to possibly be protected by someone else when you aren’t around or would you like them to be helpless to anyone, child or not, who is bigger, stronger, faster, etc than they are?
Beers didn’t state he wanted to arm teachers or turn schools into armed camps. He stated that school employees (read “The People”) who would take their own time and money to purchase a firearm and becomed trained in self-defense should be allowed to carry that firearm wherever and whenever they want to.
In my humble opinion, any parent or politician who whines and wimpers about unprotected children and then denies the means of that protection are either ignorant, uncaring or on a power trip and shouldn’t be part of the decision making process.
It is a fact, for anyone willing to take the time to search for “accurate” facts and not liberal propaganda, that every state that has allowed concealed carry firearms has also reduced violent crime.
Its a no brainer. Allow the people that want to protect themselves and others the means to do so. They life they save might be your childs.
December 15th, 2006 at 10:03 am
Study after study show that where people are armed defensively, crime falls dramatically. The bad guys aren’t willing to run the risk of being stopped dead in their tracks by someone who they haven’t factored in to their plans. Every school shooting I have heard of has been meticulously planned for weeks or sometimes months in advance. They won’t be able to plan or control a situation where they don’t know who is able and willing to stop them with deadly force.
As for the cost of a lawsuit Mr. Sammon – are you kidding??? Are the lives of your children worth less than a lawsuit?
December 15th, 2006 at 10:31 am
Schools should not feel like prisons. Unreasonable searches for weapons are not helping matters at schools, because the crazy people are still able to break security and hurt lots of people.
I believe that responsible adults are everywhere in schools, and they should be afforded the freedom of self protection as well as protecting their students. Anyone staffperson who takes a reasonable safety course should be allowed to carry a concealed, defensive weapon. No problem!
December 15th, 2006 at 10:57 am
It is a proven fact that when criminals know that they can be shot at they are less likely to go up against you. But, this needs to have a little thought put to it. Don’t you think that a teacher would defend themselves as well as their students if they were under fire in school. You or them?? The police show up to take a report, fact is they don’t stop crime or protect you. We all need to take responsibly for our own safety of family and friends. Get the training and carry concealed weapon at all times.
December 15th, 2006 at 11:02 am
If we had allowed God to stay in school and not allowed the teacher’s unions and others to take away even basic moral teachings, we wouldn’t be faced with this debate.
People are regulated by one of two things. Either they control themselves or they must be controlled. And since we have taken away the internal moral compass all that is left is the external control.
In light of that and a failure on the part of the teacher’s unions and others of similar socialistic ilk to return to a position of allowing the teaching of right and wrong along with the Three R’s in our schools, it becomes apparent we need an idea such as the one Senator Beers is proposing.
The facts are irrefutable. Whenever concealed carry is allowed then the bad guys go away. They go to the places where the pickings are easier. They go where the vicitims can’t fight back.
And all you bleeding hearts and sob sisters out there who are saying that the teachers should not have to carry guns, just calm down. No one will be carrying who does not want to do so. And no one will carry who will not be properly, thoroughly and extensively trained. So stop with the knee jerk reactions and for once in your life think about what is being proposed, not about what you think is being proposed. Look at the facts, not at what you fear might happen.
I remember when one of the first school shootings took place in Pearl, Mississippi. I was living just 10 miles away in Jackson, Mississippi. And one of the things that the national media failed to thoroughly point out was that the shooting finally stopped when an assistant principal went out to his car and got his own weapon and faced the student with his gun in his hand. The student only stopped when he was faced with someone else with a weapon. And it took the police another 10 minutes to arrive at the school. How many children’s lives did that assistant principal with his own weapon save? Even if it was only one, it was worth it.
Thank you Senator Beers for having the intestinal fortitude to offer a solution that will cease making our schools a target rich environment.
December 15th, 2006 at 11:30 am
This isn’t wasting resources. It will cost no money. It isn’t a law to arm teachers. It isn’t a law to make teachers into police officers. It isn’t a law giving teachers any rights that they do not already have outside of school property. It isn’t something to directly discourage students from bringing a gun to school. It would give teachers who already have or are willing to obtain a CCW license the ability to carry concealed in school just like they already can outside of school property. It is just a law to give teachers the means to defend themselves and those around them(our kids) if the situation warrants it.
Concealed. That means hidden folks. They won’t become targets for the students or for anyone looking for a gun. Why? Because, it is concealed. No one will know that they are carrying unless they make the mistake of informing someone. If they show the gun off while they carry it or threaten a student with it that is considered brandishing the weapon and it is illegal.
It is a wonderful idea. For those that question its usefulness….I remember reading about one of the school shootings within the past couple years that ended when the principal ran something like 1/4mile away to his parked car to retrieve his handgun. He returned and held the shooter until the police arrived. During the time it took for the principal to retrieve his legally stored pistol two students were shot and killed. If they didn’t ban guns on school property a few years before the incident he would have been carrying his pistol or had it in his vehicle on property instead of 1/4 mile away. He just may have been able to save those two lives. I do not have a link to the story handy but I am sure some of you remember it and for those that do not you should be able to dig it up without too much trouble if you doubt it.
So far we have a bunch of “what-ifs” from people here. “What if the teacher gets mad. What if they mistake a phone for a gun.” These things do not happen outside of the classroom to CCW holders(some of which are teachers) so why would it happen inside the classroom? Is the fear of the unlikely really enough to take away our freedom to protect us from the possible? Here are some facts for you:
People with concealed carry permits are 5.7 time LESS likely to be arrested for violent offenses than the general public.
People with concealed carry permits are 13.5 times LESS likely to be arrested for non-violent offenses than the general public.
Source: (http://www.gunfacts.info/)
People have been predicting shootouts in the streets ever since states started to allow concealed carry again and it hasn’t happened anywhere. People who are willing to follow the legal channels to obtain a CCW license so that they can carry are law abiding citizens. They are not the ones you have to worry about breaking laws. Taking freedoms away from law abiding citizens is not the answer. The ones you have to worry about are the ones that illegally buy a gun off the street for $50 and conceal it without obtaining a license. Those are the criminals. If we do not have law abiding citizens arming themselves there will be no one to protect you from these criminals. After all, police respond to crimes AFTER they happen. They are not going to prevent them.
December 15th, 2006 at 12:35 pm
I am father with three children currently attending Clark County schools, and a law enforcement officer by profession. Why would you arm a person who has the potential to be overtaken at any given moment by thirty or more students? Law enforcement officers put their lives at risk day in and day out, and have at any given moment the chance of being overtaken by the person whom they have made contact with. These officers are trained in weaponry, and retention tactics. However, statistics show each year of officers who are gunned down by their own duty weapon. Ask yourself, could this not happen to a teacher who is armed? If your answer is “No”, you need to wake up and smell the coffee!
December 15th, 2006 at 12:45 pm
I don’t see this ever happening. The liberal climate that permitted things to get to this point would never permit a teacher to hurt one of these precious darlings shooting up a classroom. A good first step in solving the problem would be for all caring parents to remove their children from these environments to private or home-schools. A second step would be to remove dangerous students into work-camps. A third step would be to require all public-school children to spend three months in doing field labor to teach them respect for that kind of work…and to understand that this is their lives without an education. A fourth step would be to require that all children go through a year of remedial training before entering high school unless able to demonstrate a reading level of ninth-grade. But the liberals won’t listen to me…
December 15th, 2006 at 12:57 pm
I see the ad hominem crowd is in fine form. Can’t be bothered to understand the issue. See the word “gun” and wet themselves. Begin bleating that the senator is wrong/bad/crazy.
Yes, I understand that it’s more important to keep schools safe for predators. After all, schools are supposed to promote “fairness” and we wouldn’t want to be unfair to a predator now, would we?
Would I arm MOST teachers? No, of course not. Most teachers have had personal responsibility and independent thought expunged from their thinking. We are all victims here. No one must be offended. Can’t we all just get along?
Some teachers, on the other hand, are quite comfortable with their responsibilities. They understand that their own security and that of their charges is up to them. The police will never be there when bad things start.
I have no problem with properly trained and screened personnel carrying the only effective means of self defense.
Those staff who wish to remain unarmed, who are committed to being helpless, who don’t trust themselves with defensive weapons, who don’t care if the students entrusted to them are kept safe from violent school invasions: they should, indeed, not carry.
Of course, I’m not sure I’d trust a teacher who insisted on such abdication of responsibility with the education of my children.
I’d also worry that such a teacher would lie to my kids, and “interpret” the 2nd amendment for them as “protecting the army’s right to be armed.”
Let those teachers who aren’t frightened of weapons be armed.
I’ll make sure my kids take their classes. I want to make sure they have a fighting chance when it all hits the fan.
The rest of you can keep your kids in the classes of guaranteed soft targets. Best of luck to you.
December 15th, 2006 at 1:03 pm
Among other reasons, one of reasons I pulled my son out of public school was because of the gun-free zone there. Does the Beslan, Russia school massacre ring a bell? Metal detectors wouldn’t have helped in that case! Gun-free zones are just advertisements to wacko’s, criminals and terrorists to “come on in, we are helpless to resist!”. And the people who posted they think the teacher will snap and shoot at their kid all I have to say is why are you trusting your kid to them if you think they are so unhinged?! People who are afraid of guns are just too lazy to learn to protect themselves, they want others to do it for them. And it is an insult to say people are too stupid to learn fire-arms training, leave it to the “professionals”. Well the news is unless you are rich and can hire a bodyguard you are ON YOUR OWN when an incident occurs. Better to take some responsibility on your own shoulders than be the corpse the “professionals” come around to collect after the fact. We were given the second amendment to do just that and we do not have to be sitting ducks. You can’t be 100% safe anywhere but at least if armed you have a chance to defend yourself and live. Arm the teachers who choose to do so. And to the parents who want gun-free schools I say, the life the teacher saves with his/her gun could be your very own child’s. Now wouldn’t that be worth it?
December 15th, 2006 at 1:03 pm
If you give the teachers guns then you will creat more violence. This will only send the wrong message to the kids. It will not make them think twice before they start fights, this will cause more school shootings. It takes just one child who is unstable to get a hold of the gun and then there will be a loss of more then one child and the blame will be the school districts for the ignorance in this matter. Our school district as it is is very ignorant and has lost its morals along the way. We need to re-educte the district.
December 15th, 2006 at 1:23 pm
i personally think all people should be armed -but they must be trained and must -shoot at least 5 rounds once a month learn where to place a shot so as only to wound not kill unless they have learn how to wear the weapon so it cant be taken easly
MOST of all they must be mentally fit to take a persons life if nessary as this is very nessacery for thier well being —now if i send my child to your classroom i expect you to prtect my child even with your life if you have to — al guns taken from criminals should be checked and given to teachers so they dont have to buy thier own this way a gun smith can determine the small ones that are easy to use and lite weight
December 15th, 2006 at 1:28 pm
This controversy frees up what most Nevadas have been waiting for and that is more job oppurtunity. Lets face it teachers with guns will create more of a distraction than those currently teaching without them. The question should be is there enough adequate trained officers who could step in and take over this crisis situation, I mean come on, there are more than enough law inforcement officers and trainee to step in take their positions. Protect and serve: is this not one of the law abiding creeds. Not that I’m trying to impose more work than what officers have on there plates already, but think about it patrol the streets and schooling systems creates a network of a double ended sword, who going to cause problems if there is no where to turn to be a spectical. Yet, hopefully those responsible or obligated to their work will not over step there boundaries and create more of a problem then exists now.
December 15th, 2006 at 1:28 pm
We are required to send our children to school — we have no choice. Now, that in itself isn’t a bad thing — but we have a right to demand the school defend and protect our children with the same vigor and effectiveness we would employ if we were there.
In other words, the school system should have an absolute liability for our chilrens’ safety. If they fail to take all reasonable measures to protect them, they must pay the penalty.
Israel had some attacks on schools, notably at Ma’alot. They armed the teachers and the attacks stopped.
December 15th, 2006 at 4:09 pm
The senator should be fired for coming up with such a ridiculous idea.
Period.
December 15th, 2006 at 4:36 pm
Why is this even a question?
The American people are SUPPOSED to be armed.
We will always have bullies. We will always have predators. We will always have opportunists. They don’t care what the law is, and they never have.
And if the victims are always disarmed before the fact, you are guaranteed that things will end badly for them.
And the police will show up in time to sweep up the glass and mop up the blood.
You know, we ALREADY tried disarming the school staffs. Well, THAT really worked well. So let’s disarm them harder. That’ll fix it.
Or you could let them fight back effectively.
Hell, it could hardly work out worse than what we’ve been doing so far.
And if I were a thug looking for a soft target, I think I’d stay away from a school where an unknown number of teachers and staff were armed.
December 15th, 2006 at 5:34 pm
Its about time that our children and grandchildren are protected when away from parents. The police can not do this! What idiot would not want a teacher with a weapon to protect their child against a slaughter! Get real we do not live in Mayberry any longer those days are gone!
How many lives could have been saved if a teacher had,had a gun we will never know! Its time the people in this country took back this country, by what ever means possible. That means re electing judges who give these criminals a slap on the wrist. The DA’s spend lots of man hours and then have to PLEA bargin I say enough is enough!
One angry granny!
December 15th, 2006 at 6:06 pm
It is impossible for the police to be everywhere. The people are the first line of defense against animals, including the 2 legged kind. Disarming law abiding citizens creates ’safety zones for criminals’ and invites lawlessness.
Any politician who continues to insist on disarming law abiding adults in schools is engaging in child abuse and should have the full weight of the law thrown at them with vengence!
December 15th, 2006 at 6:38 pm
I bought my first gun, a 410 shotgun, from a fellow student. We were fourteen. The transaction occurred in the hall of the high school, at our lockers, across from the principal’s office. Mr. [redacted] came out, saw us, and we discussed guns and gun safety for a few minutes; then he brought out his Colt .44 for us to admire.
But that was long ago in a far country. Oh, it was the USA, and it looks similar, but it’s quite a different place.
The saddest thing about this debate is the number of mystics. A gun is a tool; its only response is that of the person holding it. It is neither an Amulet of Evil nor a poisonous spider, and reacting with shivery shudders is not rational. It’s magical mysticism, and if you react that way you needn’t worry about being required to carry — nobody would trust you with one anyway. I’d take your two-ton bludgeon away from you, too, if I could; you aren’t safe with anything dangerous.
The second saddest thing is the reaction to cops, which is evenly divided between naive trust (expecting the Saints to rescue you) and nose-in-the-air dismissiveness (I’m not violent, and the crude thugs who are can take care of it for me.) Neither model is gonna work.
Regards,
Ric
December 15th, 2006 at 6:43 pm
Of course permit holding teachers should be able to carry guns at schools – federal law has always allowed permit holders to carry on school grounds, and so do amny state law, including Delaware, oregon, Utah, and others.
Mike Stollenwerk
OpenCarry dot org
December 16th, 2006 at 12:05 am
For all of those who are afraid of guns:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1810742711704783849
Think about it. That woman was forced to leave her gun in her truck. Do you really want to advertise to psychos that your kids are unprotected?
December 16th, 2006 at 9:22 am
I am a teacher and I see the value of arming HIGHLY TRAINED teachers. These students deserve to be protected. It is believed by many in law enforcement that schools will be the next battleground in this struggle we find ourselves in. There will be no way for the police to react fast enough. One SRO officer per site is not enough to offer ample protection to the students. Every time an attack is carried out on a school site my wife is nervous because she knows that I am left unprotected.
I also agree that storage is not an issue. If the teacher wishes to go through a tough training course or series of courses the teacher will purchase their own firearm, when at school it will be carried on their person, when stored it will be unloaded, at home, and locked up.
The danger is not in having firearms, it is in having someone use them for ill towards others.
December 16th, 2006 at 9:22 am
What has happened to our schools? No longer are they a safe place where children prepare for their futures. But a place of fear and worry about what some angry child/person will do. How about tolerance training classes before you resort to guns? Violence breeds violence! I do not want my child learning in a hostile environment. Teachers should be able to be teachers. Let the security guards and the metal detectors do their jobs. As a parent of a student in ccsd, I’m concerned who will properly train teachers? Are our schools turning into military academies? We need to train some of these parents! Where are their children getting guns from? How come these parents are not aware of what their child is doing?
December 16th, 2006 at 9:31 am
What has happened to our schools? No longer are they a safe place where children prepare for their futures. But a place of fear and worry about what some angry child/person will do. How about tolerance training classes before you resort to guns? Violence breeds violence! I do not want my child learning in a hostile environment. Teachers should be able to be teachers. Let the security guards and the metal detectors do their jobs. As a parent of a student in ccsd, I’m concerned who will properly train teachers? Are our schools turning into military academies? We need to train some of these parents! Where are their children getting guns from? How come these parents are not aware of what their child is doing?
December 16th, 2006 at 9:42 am
God Speed Bob Beers.
Hello reader, I am The Armed Educator. I am a certified public high school teacher, a private citizen with a concealed handgun permit, and an advocate for classroom concealed carry.
It disheartens me to see that there are so many out there who do not yet value the lives of my students, or myself for that matter, as they should, but what’s more important than that is I see there are good people in the world whose have their facts and priorities straight.
Bob Beers, I thank you. Everyone who supports his initiative, I thank you as well it makes me feel appreciated and encouraged. I will pray for the success of this endeavor, and for God to change the hearts of those who oppose it.
I have started a discussion board for the issue which has not seen a lot of traffic lately, but this is an idea whose time has come. Please join me in creating a better future for our children’s education.
http://thearmededucator.yuku.com/
December 16th, 2006 at 12:49 pm
what was the teachers last words at columbine? DYLAN KLEBOLD! SIT DOWN AND PUT THAT GUN AWAY! PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO STUDY HERE! sheeple get what they deserve.
December 16th, 2006 at 2:25 pm
I think this idea is just nuts. Who would think of arming teachers? If this proposal goes through, honestly, how would it make classrooms safer? I think it would just be an easier route for someone who was looking for a gun. They would have to be securely locked and constantly monitored. It would only take a second for a student to get the teacher’s gun and start shooting up the place. I’m not saying we don’t need to come up with ways to make schools safer, but this proposal is just ridiculous. The teachers wouldn’t have the qualifications to handle the guns, and some teachers couldn’t be trusted with guns.
December 16th, 2006 at 3:22 pm
Cold, logical analysis suggests that gun bans in schools can only succeed in making schools risk free zones for violent predators. Not only are gun bans incapable of protecting students, the bans also place the students at higher risk. In recent years, several would-be school mass murderers were stopped in their tracks by armed ordinary citizens. The only way to prevent our schools from serving up an endless supply of helpless young victims is to ensure that there are responsible, armed people in every school capable of effective defense of our students.
December 16th, 2006 at 6:02 pm
It’s time for Bob Beers to retire. His latest “great” idea shows his total disconnect from the problems faced by educators in Nevada. Arm teachers now, maybe the school bus drivers next?
Increased security is needed at our schools. Of course, I’m sure Mr. Beers would fight any tax increase that would provide metal detectors, increased numbers of school police, or any other solutions to this problem.
December 16th, 2006 at 9:00 pm
Here in N.C. the schools have armed policemen assigned to the schools. It has not stopped kids from bringing weapons to school and it has certainly not stopped any violence. I do photography for law enforcement and I can tell you for a certainty that the police do not stop crimes from occuring, they simply show up later to take the report. I believe Mr. Garcia is not qualified to be a chief if he doesn’t know that a concealed weapon is “stored” with the teacher in question. Firearms are used approximately two million times a year in the U.S. to deter crime. I think the bedwetters should have to protect themselves for a change instead of relying on me to do it for them. My philosophy is that a gun in the hand is worth much, much more than a cop on the phone!!
December 16th, 2006 at 10:22 pm
Reading the comments in favor of teachers carrying guns is quite frightening to me. I don’t think this is the solution. I understand the frustration but what will happen if my gun accidently goes off? Of course, trained professionals will be allowed guns but accidents do happen.
One solution is stricker juvenile punishment. We need consistency across the board. Zero Tolerance is Zero Tolerance. Period. Break this rule and receive suspension/explusion, etc.
I had a young child (elementary) come to school with a large knife. Was she suspended? No. She was allowed to come back to the clasroom so she wouldn’t miss testing. The following week, she comes to school with large scissors concealed in her jacket lining. Was she sent home? No. She was allowed to return to class.
What message is being sent? Granted had this been my decision, I would have held the parent accountable and made him/her come pick up the child, called Metro, etc. The problem I have seen is that there are some adminstrators who follow the Zero-Tolerance policy and some that do not want weapons reported on the school’s “rap sheet.” Ask the teachers what they have seen. You’d be surprised.
Inconsistency and lack of consequences have added to this problem.
December 16th, 2006 at 10:58 pm
the supreme court has ruled several times that governments were not liable for the protection of citizens from violence from people,feb.23,1989,usa and other newspapers. the feds nor states cannot put cops in every household or classroom. we the people are the police,therefore we should have the same rights the governments has,which is,we should not be liable for protecting our homes and schools. but, as we all know the feds&states will try to help by incriminating & taxing our civil rights! lawyers$$?
December 16th, 2006 at 11:36 pm
“But where gun control has failed, Bob Beers believes gun proliferation may succeed.”
Did I just read these words from a TeeVee reporter? “Gun control has failed?” Now that’s some good news.
“The president of the teacher’s union told Eyewitness News he believes our schools should remain gun free and not be turned into ‘military camps.’”
The only one talking about militarizing the schools is the Chief of Police, not the Senator proposing to allow concealed carry at school.
I, a regular citizen, carry a concealed handgun and am ready to defend my kids. It doesn’t distract me from my duties as a parent. On the contrary, my decision to carry grows out of my acceptance of my responsibility and love for my children. I would hope they have someone near them at school who cares enough to protect them as well.
December 17th, 2006 at 7:25 am
I feel it is extremely sad that our public school system has come to the point where arming the school teacher is a positive step in the right direction for protecting students. The reality is however that the administration and lawmakers will never allow such a step in fear of liability. Dead or injured students and teachers are a better choice than teachers protecting their students with equal force will be how the administration and law makers view the option. The reality is the judicial system and parents are failing our children by not imposing punishments which meet the severity of the criminal actions of troubled youth. I was a troubled youth 25 years ago as a student at Vegas High, Valley High and Sunset High all in a 2 year period. I stood before judge Gary Davis one too many times and finally was directed Military or Jail. I chose the Military and stayed there for 21 years. These kids who are bringing guns are the same ones who have no parental superevision. My family chose to be responsible for our children’s safety by homeschooling. The finanacial sacrifice is great, however the reward of knowing we are responsible for our children’s education, safety, socialization and values is far more valuable then a double income with latch key children! The public school use to be the place for children, now it is a taxpayer daycare center.
December 17th, 2006 at 10:49 am
Arm Teachers Absolutely. From 1949 until 1961 I never remember a teacher even being hit by a student and look at today. I must ask, “Glen what the hell has happened to our country”. Now we have “Men” killing entire families and even little children on almost a daily basis.
David Pacetti
December 17th, 2006 at 11:19 pm
the idea of arming teachers is a good one in part and only problem I can see is unless teacher has undergone military training most would not be qualified to handle a firearm and since the great majority of teachers in their 40s and early 50s are flower children from the 60s most would not have the mental makeup to be able to handle a firearm safely , and a lot of them judging from my dad a retired schoolteacher they would consider a firearm to be a divisive evil that should not be allowed in the classroom ironically there was a time when schools as part of a physical education curriculum had on this site small armory of 22 rifles and fire and safety and target practice was taught maybe it’s time to start teaching the NRA are a safety again.
December 18th, 2006 at 7:39 pm
As an elementary principal, I recently did a story with Adrienne Augustus on school violence against school employees. I am extremely concerned with this recent notion of arming teachers with guns to ensure safety in schools. I think this is a very dangerous and thoughtless plan. We can not afford to ignor the escalating violence against employees in our schools but, we can’t afford to enhance it by arming ourselves with guns. If we fail to teach our angry, violent population a new message for resolving conflicts in a peaceful, civilized manner, we’re guilty of teaching them the same bad message they already know. For the sake of our precious children, we MUST arm ourselves with clear public messages and expectations for appropriate behavior at schools. I hope our school officials will quickly develop an alternative plan to establish and maintain safer schools before this absurd notion of arming teachers with guns goes any further.
December 20th, 2006 at 9:47 pm
It isn’t armed teachers that will make classrooms safer….. this idea is ridiculous from start to finish. Let me get this straight you want a teacher to walk into a classroom with a loaded gun where a child may sit who is just shy of snapping into a psychotic episode where he gets hold of the gun and……. I don’t think I even need to say it.
As a teacher, I can tell you that I have listened to politicians — who I might say have never been responsible for educating a group of children. Instead, they blame the teachers and the teachers blame the parents, but in truth it’s the politicians themselves that are to blame. Years ago — when mothers stayed home with children and fathers worked, children were better behaved in classrooms. 1) because they weren’t raising themselves because no adults were home and 2) because an adult was at home structuring their evening routine — snack, play outside for a bit, homework, dinner, chores, bedtime.
Politicians should be passing laws that allow parents to stay home with their children by making gas, housing, food, and clothing more affordable to allow kids to be safe. Pass a law that mandates family counseling to parents of minors that break the law. Don’t send teachers into classrooms with guns to teach students that don’t have a basic respect for authority. As a teacher I want my students to RESPECT authority NOT FEAR authority. I think we are getting the cart before the horse hear.
December 21st, 2006 at 3:04 am
Teachers and principles that speak out against having armed teachers for protecting themselves and for the protection of their students, need to think about the possible violent situations that we are trying to deter. These are our children we’re talking about that would be protected against vicious criminals. The key words used here are “for protection” that means a life threatening defensive situation. Not to win an argument, not to stop a fight, not to threaten a student for to keep him quiet in the class room. These CCW holding teachers, our prize teachers, our educated intelligent college taught teachers and their guns should only be used to deter an offensive violent gun toting criminal. You forget who you’re dealing with here. It’s an individual that has given up on friends, family and life it self.
Our school district is supposed to have completed a thorough background check on all teachers that are employed. That means a psychological exam and a criminal background check, a great screening process by our professional school district human resources department and then monitored by our best of the best chosen principals. These employed teachers are supposed to be our communities finest. These elite individuals are supposed to be able to think logically, make good decisions in dealing with our good and bad children. After all they are teaching our children, right? Or are we just led to believe these preferred teachers are of the supreme?
I hear principals talking about how they cannot trust their teachers with handguns. What does that say about our teachers teaching now? What does that say about our principals allowing these teachers to still be employed? They cannot be trusted to make the right decisions? We’re entrusting these principals with our children? These principals should start looking for replacements or maybe we need to think about replacing our principals that can’t make that simple decision.
What about our police officers? We have had some officers pick up and rape the innocent citizens of this community by gun, badge or barter. We as a community don’t take away guns from all police officers because of one bad police officer, do we? No, we move on, train, screen, learn from our previous failures in hiring and again find better ways to screen and train our police officers. Are we to say police officers are evil, no. There is a percentage that goes astray. Well the same goes for our teachers and bus drivers. Remember, we are not teaching violence with violence. It’s called deterrence. We do it as a nation with nuclear weapons and our armed forces. We do it as a state in times of emergencies, our armed national guard. We do it as a city or town, our armed police departments. The bottom line here is deterrence, which is the key. To make the perpetrators think, alter their course and back down.
Arming our teachers is the right decision and it is like everything else we talk about how the gun going to be stored? As a CCW which is on our teachers? Possibly a wall safe in every room would work. It could be directly wired to the police dept, as soon as a safe is opened; police are notified just as a fire alarm notifies our Fire Dept. This alarm would trigger a light that identifies a safe has been opened. Then lock down begins. Maybe a light illuminates to show other teachers that there is a safe opened and there could possibly be trouble. We as a community need to get back to where we were and come together and agree on one thing our constitution. This is the United States, our constitution is Freedom First then if you violate the laws you relinquish your rights. Stick to what has been given to us by our forefathers. Freedom is always First. I say deterrence is best.
I remember a statement and I’ll share it with you “A citizen who shirks his duty to contribute to the security of his community is little better than the criminal who threatens it.”
The Constitutional Right and Social Obligation to Carry a Gun,
by Robert Boatman
Think about that.
December 22nd, 2006 at 10:38 am
“We The People” … Teachers are also “People” so should have the same rights as any American should.
If one doesn’t like coffee, do they go to a coffee house such as “Starbucks” for their lunch?
No! That would be stupid wouldn’t it?
But just as stupid as a person who hates guns, and yet wants to live in the first country that allowed all classes; rich, middle class & poor the right to bare arms.
My point is. If you do not like coffee… Stay out of the coffee houses. If you do not like guns… Stay out of the United States of Free America & move to a “controlled country” (many people all over the world want to move here as well as true Americans stay here for that freedom. We are sick of these people who want all the laws.) If you want all the laws! Buy a one-way ticket, and please move to a controlled country, and keep this country free.
All have the right to protection! Even teachers. If you do not believe in the right to carry a gun. Then I ask you to promise to your God, that you will never touch a gun, even if it is to protect yourself, someone you love, or even to that person who might be found raping your 5 year old child. Practice what you preach! And let that person do their harm without you fighting back, but for the rest of us… Let us protect ourselves: friends and family the way our constitution of the United States gives us the right to.
“The only rights you have are the ones you are willing to fight for. And if you are not willing to fight for them, then you do not deserve them.” (Benjamin Franklin)
I find it funny in the wagon days, the wagon would have the rifle, on the father was his side arm, and there was a first aid box with all the drugs that we now call “Illegal” But the kids back then didn’t touch any of these, and they didn’t have any problems. Now today while many people of other countries fight and die for freedom, the stupid Americans vote to loss their rights, and make laws for everything to be illegal, now we have kids taking the drugs and shooting each other.
Fact! The country with the least amount of crime, and has been in the least wars for the past 100 years is Switzerland, which has a law the “ALL HOUSE HOLDS” MUST HAVE A “PISTLE”, “RIFLE” & A “FULL AUTO MACHINE GUN” (Seems funny Hitler took his armies around that country.)
Also …. Let be a free country again. Lets have all who are Jewish to say, “Happy Hanukkah” & let Muslims say, “Happy Eid Al Fitr” & let Christians say, “Merry Christmas” & may all speak from their heart with love. And if someone is offended by someone else’s love, due to they choose to live in hate, then that is not the person’s fault who chooses “Love” but that is the person’s issue who chooses “Hate” and “hate we can do with out! (If you can’t live in a nation of freedom of Religion, and want it controlled… again buy a one-way ticket and move out!)
December 22nd, 2006 at 10:04 pm
When condoms were starting to be passed out it was said by the liberals that this would not increase sex among children.
So liberals please live by your own logic, a condom will not force a kid to have sex and a gun will not force a kid to do violence.
I suppose liberals feel that hiding in a corner and crying while students are being slaughtered is much better then stopping the slaughter with a pistol.
December 22nd, 2006 at 11:06 pm
Guns do not just “go off”. Trained and selected teachers do not use violence to resolve confrontation. Gun free school zones are ripe picking for any violent individual. Not only would arming select teachers deter acts of evil and insanity, it would encourage a positive message about weapons; that they are, in fact, tools of justice in the hands of compassionate individuals. Allowing only police to carry weapons not only establishes a false authoritarian relationship with tomorrow’s generation, it makes students relate to weapons as simple tools for power and control – not freedom and security.
One day the nannies may look back and wonder, “How did they ever drive without GPS?” “How did they survive without rubber scissors?” “Can you believe they rode on motorcycles?” and the answer will be the same then as it is now; we are a free people, freedom necessitates responsibility, responsibility is taught by example, and the quiet strength of leadership is earned through the trials of life. Fearing sidearms is fearing freedom, responsibility, and spiritual maturity.
December 23rd, 2006 at 8:57 am
I am reading a LOT of rhetoric of how Sen. Beers’ proposal is “thoughtless,” and I just have to shake my head in wonder.
To me, “thoughtless” is ignoring a commonsense way to allow teachers to defend themselves AND their students from armed threats!
I don’t think anyone is saying that arming teachers is THE answer. No, it must be just one component of a complete system in place at schools. A system that no longer tolerates the bullying and harassment that can lead a child to the breaking point. A system that does NOT allow any stranger to roam a school campus freely.
The former will help put a stop to people like the Columbine killers. The latter, will help stop NON-STUDENT school shooters from getting to the students.
But still, any system can and will break down. That is why it is urgent to allow teachers the BEST means of self-defense possible. NO ONE is saying teachers should be “an improvised SWAT Team!” They should just barricade the door in event of an emergency elsewhere, STAY with the students, but BE PREPARED if a threat comes through the door.
To counter some of the other foolish arguments against this:
*Teachers should NOT be allowed to openly carry guns, and it should NOT be public knowledge who is carrying. This way, a student will not be able to “jump” a teacher and get his/her gun. But if that is such a concern anyway, why have I not heard of a student taking a Resource or Police Officer’s gun away???
*Armed teachers should be required to CARRY the gun at all times, to eliminate the risk of the gun being found in a drawer, purse, etc.
*I’ve never even considered the question of taxpayer expense for the weapons. This should NOT be mandatory, thus the teacher should be responsible for buying the gun him/herself. If they already have a carry permit, then they most likely own one anyway.
*”the teacher could “snap.” Someone may have beaten me to this one, but if a person is so unstable that they could “snap” and kill a child…THEY HAVE NO BUSINESS IN THE CLASSROOM, PERIOD! Armed or UNarmed! They belong in jail or a padded room!!!!
*”the POLICE yadda yadda yadda …”
The police are generally well-trained, but NO amount of training makes one OMNIPOTENT. How many children can a gunman kill while the victims wait for the police to get there?! If the world was such that we had a giant surplus of police officers, enough to put several in even the smallest rural school, THEN Beers’ proposal would make less sense.
*Guns do NOT accidentally go off. Like any other person with a concealed carry permit, the ONLY time you handle the weapon in public is when you need to use it!
*Zero Tolerance – a bit off topic, but I do NOT approve of the ZT policy. Zero Tolerance is really Zero Thought applied to a situation. When a child who shares an Albuterol inhaler with a classmate having an asthma attack gets the SAME punishment as a child popping Xanax in the bathroom, you should know SOMEthing isn’t right!
*”NC has armed policeman in schools” – NOT in the small rural school where my loved ones go. The nearest LEO is a good HALF HOUR away at any given time.
*”How about tolerance training classes before you resort to guns?” …do I really need to say anything? This is the sort of thing I would say as a “plant” that was trying to make the anti-armed teachers side look bad, honestly…
The bottom line is that schools are a prime target for all manner of psychos wanting to “make a statement” with bullets and death BECAUSE they are “gun-free zones!” How many gunmen do you hear of that go and shoot up a police station? Only the worst kind of fool would think that a law saying that bringing a gun on school grounds is a felony would deter the type of animal that would kill a child, or his/her peers.
Just knowing that teachers have the OPTION to be armed could deter a school shooting – even if NONE of the teachers at a given school choose to do so. Provided that who does and does not carry a gun is NOT made public knowledge, defeating the whole “deterrent” notion.
Better parenting and cracking down on bullying will go a LONG way to eliminating STUDENT shooters. But the “new wave” seems to be ADULT shooters.
I DO have young ones in school, blood relatives. And I would NOT want them being taught by any “pacifist” teacher that would not be willing to use any force, including lethal, to protect them.
December 28th, 2006 at 12:25 pm
That’s great. I hope this proposal becomes a practice. Not only will it protect students, it will also educate. Do these students know about the 4 rules?
If it’s worth protecting a child’s life, then may God be with you.
January 4th, 2007 at 4:18 pm
As an educator, I am appalled at the thought of allowing guns in school. I believe that we are putting guns in a situation that allows students access. Too many things happen in a school on a daily basis, and teachers cannot be focused on keeping the gun safe 100% of the time. Why give students another way to access guns? And I don’t say this as an advocate for gun control. I fully believe that our citizens have a right to bear arms. I just don’t think the solution to the problem of guns in school is to allow even more guns to be on campus. Students are getting more desensitized to violence and consequences not because the school is failing to educate them properly, but because parents fail to discipline them properly or take time to teach them a moral code or set of values. Putting guns in school isn’t going to change this. A gun cannot just be kept in a drawer or a cabinet. That would defeat the purpose. By the time a gun was retrieved for a situation where it is needed, the situation is over. And you are dreaming if you think it won’t be noticable that a teacher is packing a gun. So let’s think beyond violence, and an object universally known as a symbol for violence, and think of how to solve the problem without resorting to violence or a possibly violent solution.
January 7th, 2007 at 7:38 pm
Ms. Wescoat, if you *truly* supported the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, I don’t think you would have said the following:
“And you are dreaming if you think it won’t be noticeable that a teacher is packing a gun. ”
That depends on the type of gun, the build of the teacher, and the method of carrying. A 4′9″ petite woman is NOT going to be able to conceal a large revolver or autopistol, that’s for sure. But with a little thought put into it, almost anyone can find SOME gun that they can conceal flawlessly.
“So let’s think beyond violence, and an object universally known as a symbol for violence, and think of how to solve the problem without resorting to violence or a possibly violent solution.”
To use a common comeback – darn! My guns must all be defective then! They haven’t committed a SINGLE violent act as long as I’ve had them!
A gun is a tool, no more “good” or “bad” than the person using it.
Yes, we need to work on PREVENTING school shootings, rather than responding to them. But I agree 100% with those that think having a large number of armed personnel on hand WILL prevent them.
So tell me, if your solution does not involve resorting to “violence” AT ALL, what would you have someone do if a shooter does manage to get in? Beg for mercy? It’s not been all that effective so far….
What’s that saying, referring to Law Enforcement and our Military? “We all sleep soundly in our beds at night because we know there are rough men out there ready to commit violence on our behalf?”
March 30th, 2007 at 12:03 am
State Senator Bob Beers should tell truth instead of setting a stage for him to say “I told you so.” The Senator should tell the truth about being “Unable to spearhead recruitment of higher and more qualified teachers.” Allow me to say, “I told you so” when we find our children poorly prepared for the future, when Mr. Beers is only able to find impractiable solutions behind a gun.
He should also support the school police because they seem to be doing a great job protecting our kids. Mr. Beers, forget the rhetoric and get down to letting professionals to their jobs. YOU should try doing the same.
As those who think, gun carrying students are only at schools, think again. 9.9 of 10% of those young people who have access to weapons are bringing them only because the have access to weapons. Mostly from family members who don’t know how to secure their guns. Parents/ Grand parents and those who have the sad idea that they have the right to bare arms. The NRA supporters can only support the term “Right to bear arms” as their excuse to get guns into schools, but if a student gets killed because gun toting persons are irresponsible to secure their weapons.
Little do folks know that more students are killed by car accidents then guns. Then it would seem to be a good solution to restrict cars from entering school grounds. Then as the students are lined up, marching in step to the school bell, we should say. this is how to protect every student forever, right? Riiiight?
I think a way to resolve this issue is to provide a district only blind vote by the teachers, without a public arena until after the vote is completed.
Mr. Beers, sorry to take your thunder, but you are not looking out for the good of students and staff. If you were, you should move your offices to a high risk school and prove us wrong. You have a bad idea. I can vision a student coming to school with fireworks, letting them off and having the “TEACHER SWAT TEAM” respond with guns drawn. This is a joke Mr. Beers a dangerous one at that.
March 30th, 2007 at 10:09 am
My son is in high school and towers over his twenty something year old English teacher. There are too many kids that could overpower a teacher in a hostile situation and take the gun away. These kids will spend all day just trying to figure out how to get the gun away from the teacher. This suggestion is crazy!!!!
March 30th, 2007 at 4:46 pm
THAT’S ALL WE NEED IS A TEACHER THAT’S CARRYING A GUN, TO GET UPSET OR PISSED OFF AT SOMEONE AND DECIDE TO USE THE GUN. MR.BEERS IS NUTS TO BELIEVE THAT GUN CARRIED BY TEACHERS WOULD CUT DOWN ON VIOLENCE. THE KIDS WOULD TRY AND FIGURE OUT HOW TO GET THE GUN FROM THE TEACHER SO THE COULD USE IT. STUPID! STUPID! STUPID. MR.BEERS OUGHT TO BE ASHAMED OF HIM SELF FOR SUGGESTING IT.STUPID! STUPID! STUPID!
March 30th, 2007 at 6:31 pm
First you want to requlate medical pot so you can get money for school and taxes and to build better freeways then you spend since 1996 targeting blacks for crime in nevada and then set the new Gov up for going after meth labs but you won’t talk abot what ever alrady knows so here what i think you can do to prove the point take every teacher that wants a fire arm train them after they complete there course take them to the federal prison behind Nelis and let them walk through general popualation if they can come out with out any problem then fine they should carry but every one knows who is trying to insight a riot here in nevada and the reason why and DEA also knows there problem they have arrested a lot of them and your news team don’t want to talk about that
March 31st, 2007 at 12:51 pm
it’s pathetic that some politicians feel the need of making a stupid remark for 5 seconds fame, unless they really really are that stupid…anyway…just have a metal detector
April 18th, 2007 at 8:25 am
bob beers is nuts. all we need is for a teacher to have a bad day or be upset at a certain student and he or she looses it and shoots at the child he or she couldn’t control. and we’d have a reverse virginia tech.!
April 18th, 2007 at 3:32 pm
An excellent idea from Sen. Beers and one which if it had been approved by the legislature in Va. could have saved a lot of lives. In fact, there have been several school incidents where armed teachers or students have stopped killers. I propose Beers for Governor!
April 18th, 2007 at 6:30 pm
This VT shooting clearly illustrated what happens when you have strict gun laws that prevent good people from carrying guns. The good people obey the laws and are unarmed, and the criminal who by nature does not obey the law, gets a gun and makes victims of the law abiding citizens.
Please let honest law abiding citizens arm themselves to protect themselves and others from these predators.
July 2nd, 2007 at 9:11 am
carrying a gun in the classroom with children….i don’t think so. my daughter went to Carrol Johnston middle school last year and the teachers there (i could only imagine it at other schools)were acting as if they were children. I sat in the office on one occasion and witnessed not only the attire but the communication with the adults to be childish, informal, not belonging in a school but maybe over the phone as girlfriends or at a bar. CCSD really needs to pull the reins on some matters. How do you expect a child to look up to an adult when one teacher who was pregant at the time was telling the kids in my childs class (11-12yrs) about how it feels to be pregnant and if she was to go into labor in class what the children should do, what her and her fiance were going to do etc etc. She wasn’t even a health teacher. Once again how do you expect our children to look up to or follow 1. Uniforms. If CCSD doesn’t even have proper attire for the adults to follow(and if they do where are the deans to monitor the teachers) 2. Teachers. If they are busy acting like children themselves. 3. Rules. Giving a teacher a gun only sets a childs mind to think other things besides school. I say lets get ahold of these leaders (teachers) and maybe the followers(our children) will follow suite.
May 14th, 2008 at 11:49 am
Ok i see the point of everyone on here, about the arming of teachers, however i believe that if a teacher is trained and tested every 6 months for drug use and mental stability then the classrooms would benifit from some sort of protection. I am not saying put a gun in their hands but ther eis other weapons that are non-leathal that can be used. that I am sure everyone would agree on. So if one child was saved from a awful death by a armed teacher being in the class then i am all for that!!