School shootings, armed teachers: Should bullets mix with books?
I was watching a very interesting segment this morning about the Cleveland high school shootings on The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet that I thought would interest you.
Not sure how they were able to pull this off, but the show was able to have the mayor of Cleveland, Frank Jackson, and its CEO of schools, Eugene Sanders, appear on the show with Shirley Katz, the Oregon teacher who wants the right to be able to bring a concealed gun to school. Talk about great producers!
Anywho, the show had a brief overview of the issue of teachers being allowed to bring guns to schools. I learned that politicians from Wisconsin and Michigan are currently working on legislation that would allow school employees to bring guns to school.
Katz threw a curve ball when she said that she wanted to be armed to protect herself from her abusive ex-husband and to thwart school-related shootings. [Way to use a current situation to help your own cause….] Up until now every story that I have read about this teacher has pointed to her ex-husband as the reason for wanting to bring a gun to school.
I thought it was interesting that both Jackson and Sanders disagreed with Katz and said that teachers should not be able to bring guns to schools. Think about it. Both of them now have first hand knowledge about the effects of a school shooting and neither believe that teachers should be armed… Just a little food for thought.
Oh yeah, when asked if she has snuck a gun into the school in the past, Katz would not answer. Her silence spoke volumes to me. If I was a parent at that school my kids would be withdrawing immediately!
For more about the shootings in Cleveland click on this link for stories, and videos. Sounds like the kid was pretty disturbed. It also appears that there were a few warning signs...
Have a safe day…
UPDATE: Carroll County Schools are currently locked down after someone threatened a shooting at a county high school. Read more here. Check for updates on The Sun's homepage.
Categories: Around the Nation, School Safety (Or Lack Thereof)
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Comments
You write: "I thought it was interesting that both Jackson and Sanders disagreed with Katz and said that teachers should be able to bring guns to schools." I assume you mean that they said that teachers should NOT be allowed to bring guns to school, right? Please, tell me I'm right!
Posted by: Eric | October 11, 2007 1:15 PM
Eric,
You are right. I caught the error shortly after the post went up and I corrected it. Thanks anyways. Some times I type too fast for my own good...
Posted by: John-John Williams IV | October 11, 2007 1:18 PM
It doesn't bother me one bit that a teacher would want to be prepared to defend herself against aggressors of any kind. In fact, it continually shocks me that so many people want the state to forcibly prevent people from being able to defend themselves.
If she's snuck a gun into school, then clearly no one's even noticed it, and no one ever would unless a violent person showed up. I don't own or carry a gun, or ever plan to, but it's precisely none of my business if someone makes a different choice, as long as they don't point it at me, my children, or any other innocent person.
Posted by: Mike Klein | October 11, 2007 1:56 PM
I must say that with all the school shootings out there, there has to be the bigger picture looked at. I blame the parents that ignored all the signs, wether it's pictures on the wall, what they're wearing, what thy're saying. If the parents were more involved, maybe they could have stopped the shooting. I have purchase my kids the bulletproof backpacks, My Child's Pack. At least they will have something to protect themselves.
Posted by: Tracy | October 12, 2007 11:56 AM
Current legislation has mandated that schools become "gun-free zones" advertising to anyone interested in harming people that there are large numbers of defenseless people inside. True, some schools have an officer to help maintain security, however, one officer cannot effectively protect a building of 500-2500 people from an armed assailant. Events such as those, if a single officer arrives on scene first, they wait until other officers arrive so they can safely handle the situation. Thus, an officer in the building can only possibly provide safety for those in the same room as the officer. Many people are afraid of student safety if teachers are armed. Why does an armed officer not arouse this same fear? Why do people not scream that an officer will have his/her gun taken and used against them or others? The issues of a person’s character, mental status, and training are questioned. Adults over the age of 21 working/volunteering in a school should be able to qualify for a specialized school concealed handgun permit after a thorough background, psychiatric screening, and training (a course similar to the 2 week course officers go through). The handgun would be required to be worn on the body in a holster with retention levels similar to those required by police departments. These adults would not be police officers or vigilantes hunting down “bad guys”, only good people that armed intruders would risk facing when they step into a classroom - good people who could defend themself and others with them that are unable to defend themselves.
Posted by: Liz | October 15, 2007 1:51 PM