Texas school district to let teachers carry guns

1 hour, 17 minutes ago

HOUSTON (Reuters) - A Texas school district will let teachers bring guns to class this fall, the district's superintendent said on Friday, in what experts said appeared to be a first in the United States.


The board of the small rural Harrold Independent School District unanimously approved the plan and parents have not objected, said the district's superintendent, David Thweatt.

School experts backed Thweatt's claim that Harrold, a system of about 110 students 150 miles northwest of Fort Worth, may be the first to let teachers bring guns to the classroom.

Thweatt said it is a matter of safety.

"We have a lock-down situation, we have cameras, but the question we had to answer is, 'What if somebody gets in? What are we going to do?" he said. "It's just common sense."

Teachers who wish to bring guns will have to be certified to carry a concealed handgun in Texas and get crisis training and permission from school officials, he said.

Recent school shootings in the United States have prompted some calls for school officials to allow students and teachers to carry legally concealed weapons into classrooms.

The U.S. Congress once barred guns at schools nationwide, but the U.S. Supreme Court struck the law down, although state and local communities could adopt their own laws. Texas bars guns at schools without the school's permission.

(Reporting by Jim Forsyth in San Antonio; writing by Bruce Nichols in Houston, editing by Vicki Allen)



From Here: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080815/ts_ ... _guns_dc_2






Opinions?

Devil505 wrote:Teachers who wish to bring guns will have to be certified to carry a concealed handgun in Texas and get crisis training and permission from school officials, he said.

My first question is how long is this "Crisis Training" & what does it entail?

We train for "active shooter" situations every year. The events of workplace or school or whatever shooters has increased greatly. Ive been in Law Enforcement for just under 20 years. I have mixed opinions on the teachers carrying firearms. School gonna have an armor? Training for weapon retention? Shoot no shoot training?

I guess I need to think about it more to get a better opinion...

k9 Bara wrote:We train for "active shooter" situations every year. The events of workplace or school or whatever shooters has increased greatly. Ive been in Law Enforcement for just under 20 years. I have mixed opinions on the teachers carrying firearms. School gonna have an armor? Training for weapon retention? Shoot no shoot training?

I guess I need to think about it more to get a better opinion...

My thoughts exactly!
(My snap decision would be: not arming teachers, but specially trained personnel within the school with many safeguards for the weapons themselves.....Kinda like Sky Marshals where the kids don't know who they are, but they are armed & well trained......ie is the custodian really just a custodian?)

Wow...A tough call

Quick reaction, SURE! just do it. But again, even proplerly trained personnel can make the leap and suffer huge consequences.
I like the idea of pusedo custodians..hat tip to the Devil...(wow , you didn't see that coming did ya )
Many forget, OK, everybody except people like me, that in Pearl Mississippi the vice -principle saved countless lives by retrieving his Model 1911 and stopping the kid from continuing his murderess rampage. He by the way was raked over the coals by the school board for violating policy regarding Gun-Free zones, and almost lost his job but for the fact the parents of those kids who were still breathing because of his actions demanded they back off.

Ed.A wrote:I like the idea of pusedo custodians..hat tip to the Devil...(wow , you didn't see that coming did ya )

First time I think we've ever agreed on anything not coal related Ed!

Devil: Is McCain behind this?

traderfjp wrote:Devil: Is McCain behind this?

If McCain/Bush/Cheney was behind this they would end up shooting all the kids by accident!

Fuuny! He only shot the guy in the butt. I think the guy he shot was honored to be shot be a vice president. Not too bright!

A Texas school district will let teachers bring guns to class this fall, the district's superintendent said on Friday, in what experts said appeared to be a first in the United States.

I don't see a problem with this.

Wood'nCoal wrote:I don't see a problem with this.

The concept is fine John but how effective will a (licensed) middle aged "School-Marm" be against a tough 16 year old drug dealer student when he decides to take her gun away & use it on his classmates?

Teachers who wish to bring guns will have to be certified to carry a concealed handgun in Texas and get crisis training and permission from school officials, he said.

Could very well be that the "school marm" may be the one that saves all the kids, Dev. Note it's about teachers who wish to carry a firearm, not about arming every teacher.

Wood'nCoal wrote:Could very well be that the "school marm" may be the one that saves all the kids, Dev. Note it's about teachers who wish to carry a firearm, not about arming every teacher.

I hear you John but I just don't think arming teachers is the way to go.......To dangerous.


I'd rather see a well trained, real identity unknown to the kids "Marshal" of some type who would be much more effective in a violent situation than most school teachers. Again, along the lines of a Sky Marshal. I haven't really thought this through yet but I just don't like the idea of armed teachers.

Edit: To be an effective "School Marshal" would really require a tremendous amount of training, practice & marksmanship in a confusing & violent situation, that would be much too time consuming for any teacher to do, along with his/her many other "teaching" responsibilities.
Let the teacher "Teach" & let a professional do the protecting.

Devil505 wrote:

Wood'nCoal wrote:I don't see a problem with this.

The concept is fine John but how effective will a (licensed) middle aged "School-Marm" be against a tough 16 year old drug dealer student when he decides to take her gun away & use it on his classmates?

if they all receive professional instruction and take it seriously, probably a little better your average middle aged poorly trained civilian leo.

sandman wrote:if they all receive professional instruction and take it seriously, probably a little better your average middle aged poorly trained civilian leo.

Ask any SWAT team officer how much training & practice they need to perform in order to remain effective. (daily drills in most cases) I'm not saying that a "School Marshal" would need to be at that level, but I think it would far exceed the time & inclination of most teachers, who are not law enforcement trained or minded for the most part. As always, just my opinion.


Edit: This thread Gun Thread has a rather long description of the "Hogans Alley" type of training that most federal agents go through that would be required for a "School Marshal" type of job, IMO. It's a bit long (towards the bottom of the page) for anyone interested. I don't think a school teacher would have the time or even be willing to go through this type of thing.