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Texas school district will allow teachers to carry guns
Categories: In The News, Playground Bureau
There's a brand new reason not to mess with Texas-the teachers might be packing heat!
The board members of the Harrold Independent School District voted unanimously that teachers who are certified to carry a concealed weapon, get crisis training, and have permission of school officials will be allowed to bring guns into their classrooms starting this fall.
The superintendent of the small, rural district (Harrold Independent includes 110 students and is 150 miles from Fort Worth) David Thweatt says the reason behind the decision all comes down to 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?" Thweatt said. "It's just common sense."
I attended a rural school district and understand that not everyone is fortunate enough to have the protection of school police officers or a nearby police station. However, the thought of armed teachers in the classroom still gives me pause. While there have been some horrific, tragic school shootings, they are pretty rare. Accidental shootings happen much more often than Columbine situations and as a parent, that would be a bigger concern.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
LS 8-16-2008 @ 10:43AM
You sound like you expect the teacher to be using a loaded, safety-off gun as a pointer, waving it around, tossing it about, passing it around the classroom for the kids to fondle, or leaving it unattended on top of a desk for any jamoke to play with. I can assure you, that will not be the case. These teachers are licensed to carry a concealed weapon. In Texas, that means that, in addition to being “of sound mind” and having a “clean criminal history”, licensees must complete a training course which includes 10-15 hours of training, a written exam and a shooting practical. This course must be passed with a score of 70% or better. “The written exam covers law, nonviolent conflict resolution, and handgun use and storage. It is *not* mainly about shooting.” [all of this information comes from the Texas Concealed Handgun Association (http://www.txchia.org/getchl.htm)].
Nobody has any problem with scalpels in science labs, scissors in art class, power tools in shop class, or cars in driver’s ed, all of which are intended to be used by students. Why should a gun strapped to a teacher’s leg be any more of a hazard?
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Jenni 8-16-2008 @ 7:55PM
Thank you for that bit of sanity. I say that very straight-faced and not at all sarcastically.
As for Nancy, "Two teachers are going to take it off him" I'd like to see that happen. Could it? Eh, maybe. But someone who has gone through that training, PLUS is a teacher, I think it is highly unlikely. Any teenager who wants to go on a shooting rampage isn't going to rely on getting a gun off a teacher; they are going to bring their own.
I personally, would like to know that the teacher wil be able to take them down before they take down my kid!
nancy 8-16-2008 @ 4:02PM
The teacher won't be using his gun at all, because 2 teenagers are going to take it off of him and then start shooting and when this happens please don't boohoo for the dead students because you will have no one to blame but yourselves.
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hall monitor 8-16-2008 @ 4:06PM
This is probably the worst idea I have ever heard. Nothing positive can come by allowing guns into school.
Hall Monitor
http://detentionslip.org
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dee 8-17-2008 @ 3:29AM
Teachers are usually amazing romodels and should be treated with respect in society. After all they provide information to our future. However, giving them guns is still, to me, a psychotic idea. Bringing guns into a school where students are present. What if the teachers misuse the guns? What if the students sneak in to take it? Think about it.
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Stacy 8-19-2008 @ 12:41PM
A Little education from a Tx CHL teacher for the discussion.
1. The only teacher's allowed to carry in the classroom ALREADY carry outside the classroom and do not missused their guns.
2. It is only legal to carry CONCEALED in Texas therefore the students will not know who carries or does not.
3. It is only legal to CARRY the gun concealled. No one can sneak in and take it from a persons body.