Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Guns on one schools' supply list:

HOUSTON - 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."

Board members estimate it would take first responders nearly 30 minutes to get to the rural school in an emergency.

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.


From: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26225072/?GT1=43001

I think this is a great idea, as long as the teachers are trained properly and the guns are kept under lock and key. Or electronic lock and key, whatever. I, personally, would feel safe and secure knowing that my son's teacher would be prepared to SAVE lives if some whacked out kid decides to shoot up the place. I am also not surprised whatsoever that the first state to implement this is Texas. While I never experienced any violent behavior in any of the many schools I attended in Texas (bomb threats aside), my older brother's MIDDLE school was put on lock down once, for a possible drive by shooting. In Houston, no less. Plus, this was about 15-ish years ago, so a drive by shooting at a MIDDLE school was beyond terrifying. We moved shortly after, needless to say.

So, when lock down and cameras don't do anything to prevent or stop a shooting spree, would you feel better knowing that your child's life might be saved by someone on the inside? Or would you feel more safe knowing that you have to wait minutes, hours, etc for the police to make their way inside....or for the shooter to take themselves out? It just seems like immediate action is better. Common sense people.

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