Posted on 12/19/2012 7:31:39 AM PST by servo1969
SALT LAKE CITY — More guns in the hands of teachers and administrators could effectively make schools safer and better prepared for active shooters, a Utah gun instructor said.
It's in the wake of the Newtown, Conn., shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary that left 20 children and six workers dead. It's also as state school districts are reviewing their security policies and lawmakers are expressing interest in revisiting state gun laws.
"Just one person with one firearm and perhaps one round of ammunition could have changed the entire outcome of Sandy Hook Elementary," said Clark Aposhian, chair of the Utah Shooting Sports Council.
Aposhian said the idea is not for teachers or other school workers to actively pursue a shooter, but to instead be armed, ready to return fire while maintaining their defensive positions in locked-down classrooms.
Teachers, he said, could even make a difference with minimal gun training.
It's unclear how many teachers are out there that have concealed weapons permits and bring concealed guns to school. Granite and Davis school district officials acknowledged Thursday that armed teachers exist, but by law they could not require the teachers to disclose whether they are permit holders.
Granite School District spokesman Ben Horsley said the district does call on permit holders to keep their weapons with them at all times. Even keeping the guns in lock boxes are no-no's.
Davis School District spokesman Chris Williams said that district did not have a firm policy in writing, but it also asks for permit-holding teachers to keep their weapons on them. Williams said the district also encourages employees to tell their principals when they are carrying weapons because they feel unsafe, for whatever reason.
Horsley did not commit to whether more concealed weapons in the hands of school workers in fact made schools safer, but did say "all options are on the table" as Granite determines how to better safeguard students.
"We're going to look at everything," Horsley said, acknowledging when asked that even an armed, plain-clothes presence could be one possibility. "If there's any incident out there in the community - nationwide, across the world, if we feel like we can improve safety for our students, we're going to look at those potential opportunities to do so."
While there have been public calls for gun control following the Newtown tragedy, others have said more heavily-armed schools would be a positive step.
Utah mom Jennilee Smith said the school shooting was "heartbreaking" to her.
"If someone would have had a gun or whatever then they could have probably, hopefully stopped [the shooter]," Smith said.
Not everyone is convinced more guns is a viable solution, including Rep. Carol Spackman Moss, D-Holladay.
"That is not necessarily the solution," Moss said. "I don't think most teachers want to have a gun and be responsible for that firearm in their classroom. Again, some may want them - but the conversation has to start someplace in the middle."
Moss said she anticipated lawmakers taking a further look at Utah gun laws, including a bill that would make it legal to open carry weapons at public schools.
"I have concerns about it and I've had many of those similar concerns expressed to me by constituents," Moss said. "I'm not going to have the control by myself to defeat that kind of legislation, but I'm open to hearing their rationale."
Never heard of a shooting spree at a gun show....................you?
This Newtown resident, parent, and gun owner will be advocating for willing teachers to be trained and armed, and the Right restored for permit-holding parents to “carry” on their kids’ school grounds.
My favorite comment on the article:
Cloud_Strife:
“I am a teacher, and I have a CCW and carry on my person at all times. I do not take the responsibility lightly, but even if I were to lose my job over it, I could not live with myself if such a tragedy as in Colorado or Connecticut were to happen and I didn’t have the means to defend my students.
I have debated about whether to tell the administration that I carry or not. I have not thus far, because I hope to never have to use said gun, but also because while many parents and children might be supportive of such actions, there are certainly many other parents and children who would be scared. This way, ignorance is bliss, and I don’t have to break my word and still carry because some folks in my school are untrained and ignorant about firearms safety.”
Israel is surrounded by Islamic terrorists bent on “jihad”. They do not have school shootings. Why not? - Ask what WORKS in other places and follow their examples; not some “grab the guns” Progressive Liberal Leftist’s impractical “solution” that only results in a Chicago murder cesspool.
Only if teachers can pass a thorough psychiatric exam would it be safer.
Granite and Davis school district officials acknowledged Thursday that armed teachers exist, but by law they could not require the teachers to disclose whether they are permit holders.
Does anyone remember what ended the school shooting in Pearl, Mississippi? A vice principal armed with a .45 caliber semi automatic handgun apprehended the shooter and held him until police arrived.
If you are unwilling to tolerate further Sandy Hook type massacres, trained, armed teachers is a must. Anything less shows a lack of concern for the students and faculty.
They have armed guards at banks, airports, in Brinks armored vehicles, and most anyplace that has a lot of cash but not at schools where their children are. Does that tell you anything about their priorities? I would even think that should tell children how much their parents think of them.
Stun guns yes real guns no,I don’t trust teachers that much they don’t live in the real world.
It’s often been observed that “perception is more important than reality”. The observation is often correct. It is never MORE CORRECT than for those we’ve come to call “liberals”. I prefer “statist” but “liberal” has morphed from its classic meaning to the other end of the spectrum so I’ll stay with it.
Since these folks operate almost entirely on EMOTION and FEELING, REALITY seldom allows FACTS to intrude upon the delusional worldview they have constructed and the comfort that provides them. It is that illogical, irrational and delusional mindset that prompts many of them to continue to quest after a Utopian society. The thought that such a society can and will never be achieved in a fallen world populated with failed sinners never penetrates whatever remains of their cognitive consciousness. It’s a DANGEROUS WORLD and, as the liberals continue to “define deviancy down”, it becomes more dangerous daily.
There is another, far more sinister, level of the “liberal” call for gun control.
It was Mencken who offered that “The urge to save humanity is most often a false front for the URGE TO RULE.” He clearly had been a student of the liberal politicians of his day. Were he alive today and able to observe the likes of Chuck Schumer, Diane Feinstein, Obama and the rest, he’d almost certainly have used far stronger language to frame his sage observation.
To conclude, dozens of studies reveal the FACTS concerning gun control. Those FACTS are that where firearms are widely and READILY available to law-abiding citizens, CRIME GOES DOWN! The liberals who willfully ignore the FACTUAL EVIDENCE and continue to call for gun control (i.e. the DISARMING of DECENT CITIZENS, thereby denying them the ability to exercise their God-given right to self-defense) are those about whom Mencken wrote: Their goal is NOT about preserving life. It is about the hell-bent pursuit of the impossible to achieve Utopian world where all are equal but some (that’d be THEM) are MORE equal than others (that’d be US).
There are many PRO-RTKABA videos on You Tube that your often busy lives don’t allow you to find on your own. Search there for “Gun Control”, watch them – and, more importantly – SHARE THEM with the folks in your orbit.
We’re in a fight. And losing will ultimately cost us much more than our right to our guns.
It’s often been observed that “perception is more important than reality”. The observation is often correct. It is never MORE CORRECT than for those we’ve come to call “liberals”. I prefer “statist” but “liberal” has morphed from its classic meaning to the other end of the spectrum so I’ll stay with it.
Since these folks operate almost entirely on EMOTION and FEELING, REALITY seldom allows FACTS to intrude upon the delusional worldview they have constructed and the comfort that provides them. It is that illogical, irrational and delusional mindset that prompts many of them to continue to quest after a Utopian society. The thought that such a society can and will never be achieved in a fallen world populated with failed sinners never penetrates whatever remains of their cognitive consciousness. It’s a DANGEROUS WORLD and, as the liberals continue to “define deviancy down”, it becomes more dangerous daily.
There is another, far more sinister, level of the “liberal” call for gun control.
It was Mencken who offered that “The urge to save humanity is most often a false front for the URGE TO RULE.” He clearly had been a student of the liberal politicians of his day. Were he alive today and able to observe the likes of Chuck Schumer, Diane Feinstein, Obama and the rest, he’d almost certainly have used far stronger language to frame his sage observation.
To conclude, dozens of studies reveal the FACTS concerning gun control. Those FACTS are that where firearms are widely and READILY available to law-abiding citizens, CRIME GOES DOWN! The liberals who willfully ignore the FACTUAL EVIDENCE and continue to call for gun control (i.e. the DISARMING of DECENT CITIZENS, thereby denying them the ability to exercise their God-given right to self-defense) are those about whom Mencken wrote: Their goal is NOT about preserving life. It is about the hell-bent pursuit of the impossible to achieve Utopian world where all are equal but some (that’d be THEM) are MORE equal than others (that’d be US).
There are many PRO-RTKABA videos on You Tube that your often busy lives don’t allow you to find on your own. Search there for “Gun Control”, watch them – and, more importantly – SHARE THEM with the folks in your orbit.
We’re in a fight. And losing will ultimately cost us much more than our right to our guns.
Arming teachers is too close to letting people protect themselves. Watch for the TSA to begin showing up in schools. It’s just the next step toward the police state.
The Israeli went through the “Gun Free Zone” debate after the Ma’alot School Massacre in 1974. The result was that teachers and staff were armed. Parents carrying arms patrolled outside the schools. Older students were given arms training and had access to arms to protect the younger kids. The teachers, staff, parents, and older students were the ready reaction force to protect the children until the IDF arrived. The Israelis hardened their schools against Muslim attacks and none have happened since Ma’alot School Massacre in 1974.
Interestingly, even having a tazer might have helped stop this guy, although that is a bit riskier a proposition than a real gun.
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