Would allowing teachers and school staffs to carry concealed weapons in school put an end to school violence?

Question

I'm sure with this latest school shooting in Cleveland that some people are going to start demanding total gun control, but how about thinking about allowing teachers and school staffs to carry concealed weapons to school? Reason one: if kids knew the staff was possible armed they would be less likely to bring a gun to school and start shooting. Reason two: if they did bring a weapon to school, they could be dropped before they could kill very many students and staff. How many people can be killed waiting for the police to show up?

I'm not saying require teachers to be armed, I'm just saying give them the option.

Dave---one of my points is that a lot of times these people roam the halls for 30-40 minutes or longer before the police arrive and get organized. With a few other weapons already on site, the number of killings could be decreased, if they happen at all.

To the people who say we should have cops or security gaurds in the schools-----what about that cop that went off in, I believe Wisconsin earlier this week and killed 5 people?

Answer 1

I think that it should be a possibility. Let them think it. I totally agree with you on this one

Answer 2

Not teachers. Definitely not. Though I think every school should have someone armed. Generally that person is a police on duty at the school like many middle schools and high school have. But it does not have to be. There is a reason this lunatic when to a elementary school. He went somewhere that he knew there would not be anyone armed at the school. And he knew there would be few men. He did not want any resistance to his slaughter. So if school had a vice principal or other staff on duty that had a concealed weapon I would be fine with that. But their job should be by and large security. A teacher on the other hand needs to be in the classroom teaching. He/she has no business being concerned about security on a daily basis. I remember the Pearl High shooting. Many people remember that a student went in and shot and killed two students as well as shooting and hurting several others. What they fail to remember is the that he was stopped by the vice principal in the parking lot that had a gun in his car. The shooter was trying to leave the scene and go to the middle school to kill even more students. The vice principal ran to his car got his gun and pointed at the shooter and thus stopping more deaths.

Answer 3

This is a bad idea in my opinion. Teachers and staff could also just snap one day and start shooting for no reason -- we hope this would never happen -- but it could. I also had a teacher in high school (I was in school at the time of Columbine) who thought this was a terrible idea. Her reasoning being -- what happens if a student wrestles the gun away from her or breaks into her desk and steals the gun? She was afraid carrying a weapon would just give student's easier access to the gun.

Professional armed security guards with years of training roaming the halls however would be a good idea -- and actually most schools do have this.

Answer 4

No. While it might deter violence, it won't end it.

Why? Think about this: Private citizens with concealed carry permits don't get any training in weapons retention, and they certainly aren't ready for a shoot/don't shoot situation with lots of bystanders.

Since a lot of teachers would keep the weapon in a purse, there is a huge likelihood that some slick student would simply grab a teacher's weapon when he wanted to bust off a few caps. Weapons on site are only as good as the people who use them. Even people who practice at a range don't often do stress shooting...it's aim, deep breath, release half, slow pull, be surprised when trigger breaks, BANG. If you're in a life or death situation, heart pounding...it's a tad different.

Should they have the right to carry? Sure, but they need to realize the risks of doing so and be responsible for their actions.

Answer 5

Schools have become much deadlier places since they became gun free zones in 1995. Teachers should have the right to have weapons in the classroom to defend themselves and the students. By the time law enforcement gets there, most of the time too many people are dead or shot already.

There is the risk of a teacher getting overpowered and the weapon taken from them, but if that happened then other teachers with weapons would still be able to respond to that situation.

What I really think is that if the kids don't want to go to school then they should be allowed and encouraged to do something else with their lives that is still productive. Teach them a trade or something. Don't force them to go to a place where all they will do is cause trouble.

Answer 6

Well...while I agree that this is a good idea, having spoken to my wife (who has taught H.S. for 12 yrs) thinks it to be an absolutely insane idea. But then I am a strong supporter of allowing any law-abiding adult to carry concealed, the flip side is that while I now have the option to carry due to the new CC law in NE I haven't excercised the option yet. But I'm glad that if I so choose I can carry. Whats weird is how many business' choose to aleinate a sector of their customers with the no gun signs...in a bar or a bank kinda makes sense...but anywhere else?

Answer 7

That won't solve anything. We have school police officers that carry guns and the students still think they are in charge. If the students are able to get ahold of guns at home then that is the only thing that matters. I'm not saying you shouldn't have guns in the home because I have some but my children cannot get to them and never will be able to. We turned one whole closet into a gun cabinet of our own. This closet has three different kinds of locks on it so even if they were able to get one unlocked good luck with the other two. I hate to say this but have to when comes to teenagers bringing guns to school it is the parent's fault. I am 25 yrs old and still can not get guns from my dad's gun cabinet. The only way we are going to stop this is better locks on gun cabinets at home and parents doing something about the signs their child gives. My son supposedly told some boys he was going to bring a gun to school. I say supposedly because one of the boys that told on him actually brought a gun to school the very next year. I took this very seriously even though I knew he couldn't get to his bb gun. I took him home got the bb gun and took it to my dad's house (he's a cop). He talked with my son and took the bb gun away. He still doesn't have it back. These are signs and need to be taken seriously even if you don't think they said it. Better safe then sorry.

Answer 8

Two issues with your proposal.

First, it would not end school violence, just put the violence in other people's hands. (Isn't shooting to kill/stop the alleged perpetrator still violence??)

Second, you are assuming that the perpetrators are in a rational state of mind and would, thus, be deterred when they think about the possibility that staff might be armed. In most instances, rational thought is not at the forefront of the MO of these individuals.

Answer 9

Hell no -

I would not allow my children (3) to go to a school where the teachers carry guns.

Hell one of the teachers is on trial right now for slapping female teenagers on the butt. (guy teacher)


We also had a cop off duty a few years ago carry his pistol into the school to kill his wife - a teacher.

He was stopped and talked out of it by a fellow off duty cop.

Now he works at Jays sporting goods - selling guns to the public.

Answer 10

And how long do you think it would take before we hear about an argument between a teacher and student where the idiot with a permit pulls a pistol on a child? This MUST NEVER be tolerated. Unfortunately there are morons with firearms who know nothing other than "I have a permit so I can pull it out whenever I please."! ZERO TOLERANCE goes for everyone in the school.

Answer 11

No. That is a band-aid solution that does not address the cause of the violence.

A better approach would be to analyze the psychological reasons why kids exhibit violent behavior.
Some areas to pursue : limiting a student's exposure to violence in entertainment and improving the student 's self-esteem.