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Small Texas School District Lets Teachers, Staff Pack Pistols
star-telegram.com ^ | August 15, 2008

Posted on 08/15/2008 3:42:28 PM PDT by Free ThinkerNY

When classes start Aug. 25 in the tiny Harrold school district, there will be one distinct difference from years prior: Some of the teachers may have guns.

To deter and protect against school shootings, trustees have altered district policy to allow employees to carry concealed weapons if they have a state permit and permission from the administration. The 110-student district lies 150 miles northwest of Fort Worth on the eastern end of Wilbarger County, near the Oklahoma border.

More than a dozen state legislatures have considered making it legal to carry guns on college campuses, but experts and officials contacted by the Star-Telegram say the move is unheard of in elementary or secondary schools.

Superintendent David Thweatt said a main concern was that the small community is a 30-minute drive from the sheriff’s office, leaving students and teachers without protection.

'To be prepared’

The district’s lone campus sits 500 feet from heavily trafficked U.S. 287, which could make it a target, Thweatt said.

Other security measures are in place, including one-way access to enter the school, state-of-the-art surveillance cameras and electric locks on doors. But after the Virginia Tech massacre and the Amish school shooting in Pennsylvania, Thweatt felt he had to take further action, he said.

"When the federal government started making schools gun-free zones, that’s when all of these shootings started," Thweatt said. "Why would you put it out there that a group of people can’t defend themselves? That’s like saying 'sic ’em’ to a dog."

(Excerpt) Read more at star-telegram.com ...


TOPICS: Extended News; US: Texas
KEYWORDS: banglist; publikskoolz; schoolboard; schoolviolence; teachers

1 posted on 08/15/2008 3:42:29 PM PDT by Free ThinkerNY
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To: DaveLoneRanger

Ping


2 posted on 08/15/2008 3:48:50 PM PDT by SirLurkedalot
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To: Free ThinkerNY
You mean guns might deter violence ????

I'm shocked, just shocked !!!

3 posted on 08/15/2008 3:52:10 PM PDT by dfwddr ( Duncan Hunter .)
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To: Free ThinkerNY
Harrold is between Vernon, Texas and Burkburnett, Texas. The Waggoner Ranch used to be the biggest employer in the county.
4 posted on 08/15/2008 3:59:38 PM PDT by vetvetdoug
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To: dfwddr

Liberals feel good to think of schools and universities as gun free zones.

I would like to know how many gun control laws the Columbine and Virginia Tech shooters had violated, even before they fired a shot? How many laws did that guy in the mall in Omaha violate? How do we realistically defend against someone who might perpetrate a massacre?


5 posted on 08/15/2008 4:06:46 PM PDT by Dilbert San Diego
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To: Free ThinkerNY

That’s small-town Texas for ya. (Not far from where I live, in fact.)

This is about people facing down the marauding cowards and saying, “Enough. Enough of your sniping and back-shooting. You wanna do this? Let’s get it on.”


6 posted on 08/15/2008 4:07:07 PM PDT by LearsFool ("Thou shouldst not have been old, till thou hadst been wise.")
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To: Free ThinkerNY
The Libs will P!ss and moan, but I'll bet dollars to donuts they won't have any school massacres there.
7 posted on 08/15/2008 4:28:48 PM PDT by Gritty (VT didn't creat a "Gun-Free School Zone." They created a "Gun-Free School Zone" sign - Mk Steyn)
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