Many of these comments I see are expected.....but the fact is that the presents of Guns do keep crime down, in a school or any other place. Think about how Israel protects their children?!
The idea is to let everyone know that the school is ready to expel anyone and everyone that comes into the school with a Gun to shoot someone.
Fred - 11 years ago
"Now the children steal the gun and kill someone."
Fairy tales. If that scenario were true, we would have read about all the dead Israeli teachers by now.
Sam I Am - 11 years ago
Teachers teach. We don't shoot people. Good idea, put a gun in the hands of a stressed, underpaid, overworked, underappreciated worker. People are nuts for even suggesting such a thing.
Rainy Kaplan - 11 years ago
Guns do not belong in schools! Picture what would happen if a student would somehow get the weapons?! Police officers and Safety officers receive the proper training for weapons, not educators.
Randy - 11 years ago
We think nothing of armed guards protecting cash in an armored car, or in a bank, so what's more precious to our society? Cash, or kids?
Let's be clear: this shouldn't be a requirement issue. If any teacher does not wish to be armed, that is their right to choose. But let's at least restore their right to choose to avail themselves of the best possible means of protecting the children we place in their care.
Pro Gun - 11 years ago
Let teachers teach, hire trained security personnel and teachers with students can practice response plans like tornado drills. Teachers can not engage their students wearing a loaded firearm especially at a young age. Also, the liability/risk factor far outweighs the possibility of being attacked. If teachers are willing, issuing a Taser to them would be a more appropriate balance of security and liability. One hit would have incapacitated the shooting Friday long enough for him to be disarmed and secured. A consumer Taser emits a 60 second charge and to be immediately effective doesn't not have to hit center mass or vitals as long as the probes hit the body within a combined distance of two inches. Just saying lets consider alternatives. Using firearms effectively takes training and ongoing practice and I for one would prefer my kids teachers focusing on school curriculum and keeping my kids interested in learning.
takeoutthetrash - 11 years ago
Cowards and whackos have been targeting Gun Free Zones for years. Instead of arming educators who do not have the right midset (think union-brainwashed zombies), use trained volunteers, ex-LEO, or ex-military. Illinois has quite a few excellent firearm training facilities used by people who already take self-defense seriously.
Donnie - 11 years ago
I'm a school teacher. I'll fight either way, armed or unarmed, to the death if I have to . . . but we all know I stand a better chance armed. I'm not asking to be issued a weapon; I'm asking to be allowed to use my training to protect myself and my students. *In loco parentis* means, to me, that should not stand by and watch my students be harmed.
But I guess that's crazy.
Wayne Hansen - 11 years ago
As Clete stated, Israel had a series of horrendous school attacks by terrorists in the 70's... they revised their laws, allowed teachers and others to conceal carry.. parents and grandparents volunteered as well.. and after a few failed attempts, the attacks stopped.. Their children are with armed guardians whether the class goes to the park, or on a field trip.. They are taking responsibility for their children.. something (as it sounds) the Teachers Union isn't interested in, I'm sure there are parents in every community that would be willing to volunteer their time to "guard" the schools of their children.. but golly, that wouldn't work with the Union now, would it.. Let's put our children first.. Remember, 911... when seconds count, the Police are just minutes away.
D - 11 years ago
So now the teachers have guns and or custodial staff... Now the children steal the gun and kill someone. THAT is the more likely scenario, all these gun toting nut jobs think more guns is the answer, pure silliness, the answer is education and tolerance and better parenting, in a nutshell, until this changes there will always be a columbine, newtown, etc
Kevin - 11 years ago
Everyone forgets that the guns used in this shooting were stolen from his mom. His mom legally purchased the guns. If she did not have the guns this would not have happened. Simple as that. Now they are talking about arming teachers and custodians? What is wrong with our country? Is owning a gun that important to you that you will continue to risk the lives of innocent children?
Lawrence Oliver - 11 years ago
The gunman in Conn. was firing at students for 10 full minutes before cops arrived, if he only had a knife he could have stll killed a lot of kids. If a trained responsible adult had had a gun, he could have really lessened the casualty number. It is time to wake up, we live in a very dangerous world, there are a lot of crazies, if we really want to protect our children then we need to give someone in each school the ability to do that if the majority of parents agree. If someone breaks into a school and has a weapon of any kind-a freaking baseball bat, whatever-someone needs the means to stop that person from harming anyone. A lot of schools are farther than 10 minutes from the police, and even in 5 minutes a deranged individual hellbent on hurting others (especially young children) can do a lot of harm. We need to face the facts, since Columbine there have numerous other attacks, nothing we have come up with yet has worked. Weapons can be a great means of protection, until something else is proven to work- so far nothing has, then the children who everyone agrees deserve to be safe also deserve all the means to protect them including a trained responsible armed adult or taxes raised in every school district to put an armed police officer in every school.
Stu Strickler - 11 years ago
We need to get rid of all Gun Free Zones. They are rich targets and proven killing zones. I would bet that the criminals just love anyone stupid enough to support Gun Free Killing Zones
Clete Torres - 11 years ago
"It's ridiculous to think bringing guns into a school or classroom would somehow make that area safer," said Charlie McBarron, a spokesman for the Illinois Education Association."
It's worked in Israel for decades. But then, one can't expect union teachers and their representatives to be smart enough to follow the lead of success.
John - 11 years ago
It is time to take your head out of the sand. Schools, churches, college campuses, shopping malls, are all gun free zones and is the prime reason why they are the locations for these mass shootings. I guarantee you that there are teachers in every school in states that allow conceal carry that already have permits and would carry if they were allowed. To say schools are safe places and adding guns would make them unsafe is just plain naive. Tell them the school in CT is safe.
Many of these comments I see are expected.....but the fact is that the presents of Guns do keep crime down, in a school or any other place. Think about how Israel protects their children?!
The idea is to let everyone know that the school is ready to expel anyone and everyone that comes into the school with a Gun to shoot someone.
"Now the children steal the gun and kill someone."
Fairy tales. If that scenario were true, we would have read about all the dead Israeli teachers by now.
Teachers teach. We don't shoot people. Good idea, put a gun in the hands of a stressed, underpaid, overworked, underappreciated worker. People are nuts for even suggesting such a thing.
Guns do not belong in schools! Picture what would happen if a student would somehow get the weapons?! Police officers and Safety officers receive the proper training for weapons, not educators.
We think nothing of armed guards protecting cash in an armored car, or in a bank, so what's more precious to our society? Cash, or kids?
Let's be clear: this shouldn't be a requirement issue. If any teacher does not wish to be armed, that is their right to choose. But let's at least restore their right to choose to avail themselves of the best possible means of protecting the children we place in their care.
Let teachers teach, hire trained security personnel and teachers with students can practice response plans like tornado drills. Teachers can not engage their students wearing a loaded firearm especially at a young age. Also, the liability/risk factor far outweighs the possibility of being attacked. If teachers are willing, issuing a Taser to them would be a more appropriate balance of security and liability. One hit would have incapacitated the shooting Friday long enough for him to be disarmed and secured. A consumer Taser emits a 60 second charge and to be immediately effective doesn't not have to hit center mass or vitals as long as the probes hit the body within a combined distance of two inches. Just saying lets consider alternatives. Using firearms effectively takes training and ongoing practice and I for one would prefer my kids teachers focusing on school curriculum and keeping my kids interested in learning.
Cowards and whackos have been targeting Gun Free Zones for years. Instead of arming educators who do not have the right midset (think union-brainwashed zombies), use trained volunteers, ex-LEO, or ex-military. Illinois has quite a few excellent firearm training facilities used by people who already take self-defense seriously.
I'm a school teacher. I'll fight either way, armed or unarmed, to the death if I have to . . . but we all know I stand a better chance armed. I'm not asking to be issued a weapon; I'm asking to be allowed to use my training to protect myself and my students. *In loco parentis* means, to me, that should not stand by and watch my students be harmed.
But I guess that's crazy.
As Clete stated, Israel had a series of horrendous school attacks by terrorists in the 70's... they revised their laws, allowed teachers and others to conceal carry.. parents and grandparents volunteered as well.. and after a few failed attempts, the attacks stopped.. Their children are with armed guardians whether the class goes to the park, or on a field trip.. They are taking responsibility for their children.. something (as it sounds) the Teachers Union isn't interested in, I'm sure there are parents in every community that would be willing to volunteer their time to "guard" the schools of their children.. but golly, that wouldn't work with the Union now, would it.. Let's put our children first.. Remember, 911... when seconds count, the Police are just minutes away.
So now the teachers have guns and or custodial staff... Now the children steal the gun and kill someone. THAT is the more likely scenario, all these gun toting nut jobs think more guns is the answer, pure silliness, the answer is education and tolerance and better parenting, in a nutshell, until this changes there will always be a columbine, newtown, etc
Everyone forgets that the guns used in this shooting were stolen from his mom. His mom legally purchased the guns. If she did not have the guns this would not have happened. Simple as that. Now they are talking about arming teachers and custodians? What is wrong with our country? Is owning a gun that important to you that you will continue to risk the lives of innocent children?
The gunman in Conn. was firing at students for 10 full minutes before cops arrived, if he only had a knife he could have stll killed a lot of kids. If a trained responsible adult had had a gun, he could have really lessened the casualty number. It is time to wake up, we live in a very dangerous world, there are a lot of crazies, if we really want to protect our children then we need to give someone in each school the ability to do that if the majority of parents agree. If someone breaks into a school and has a weapon of any kind-a freaking baseball bat, whatever-someone needs the means to stop that person from harming anyone. A lot of schools are farther than 10 minutes from the police, and even in 5 minutes a deranged individual hellbent on hurting others (especially young children) can do a lot of harm. We need to face the facts, since Columbine there have numerous other attacks, nothing we have come up with yet has worked. Weapons can be a great means of protection, until something else is proven to work- so far nothing has, then the children who everyone agrees deserve to be safe also deserve all the means to protect them including a trained responsible armed adult or taxes raised in every school district to put an armed police officer in every school.
We need to get rid of all Gun Free Zones. They are rich targets and proven killing zones. I would bet that the criminals just love anyone stupid enough to support Gun Free Killing Zones
"It's ridiculous to think bringing guns into a school or classroom would somehow make that area safer," said Charlie McBarron, a spokesman for the Illinois Education Association."
It's worked in Israel for decades. But then, one can't expect union teachers and their representatives to be smart enough to follow the lead of success.
It is time to take your head out of the sand. Schools, churches, college campuses, shopping malls, are all gun free zones and is the prime reason why they are the locations for these mass shootings. I guarantee you that there are teachers in every school in states that allow conceal carry that already have permits and would carry if they were allowed. To say schools are safe places and adding guns would make them unsafe is just plain naive. Tell them the school in CT is safe.