The requested article has expired, and is no longer available. Any related articles, and user comments are shown below.
© Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Here
and
Now
opinions
Again the question: Could armed teachers stop shootings?
By CAROLYN THOMPSON©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.
23 Comments
Login to comment
don-in-japan
More correctly, British. Yet they manage to change. Some huge simplifications in the second paragraph.
They have been a "constitutional right" of many citizens of other nations, but changes happen. On that... you do realize what the word "amendment" actually means... right? And "defend against tyrannical governments? Please. Oh... and the full part of that status on guns requires them to be in a well-regulated militia. Not much in the way of "regulations" occurring there at all.
Mass murder, too. "Settled law"... please refer to the word amendment.
And that last sentence just caps off the inanity. Holy crapoly. To come out post Marjory Stoneman Douglas and say "guns are fun"...
Ko
The United States has always been a proudly pro gun culture and nation. Since the very beginning the United States has a gun culture that came from Europe with the British French Spanish and Italians.
The United States successfully waged a guerilla war against the British Empire and won the war because of firearms guerilla warfare tactics and excellent marksmanship.
Guns both single shot semi automatic and fully automatic assault weapons are the constitutional right of every American citizen and a vitally important right in equipping American citizens with the ability to fight against tyrannical governments.
Guns are excellent tools for harvesting animals and self defense and sports target shooting.
Guns and semi automatic guns and their ownership and unobstructed use are settled law in the United States of America.
Guns are fun and useful tools that have ensured freedom in America for over two hundred years and will ensure that the nation continues to be free for a thousand years longer.
englisc aspyrgend
Answer: No.
What is to stop the occasional deeply frustrated teacher at the end of their tether with a class of teenagers from losing it and shooting the little ba darlings?
Cliffy
For sporting or even hunting, there is no need for automatic rifles. It kinds of remind me they are lack of something and require something else to compensate. If police officers swam into the school and see something with a gun, what do you think they first reaction, they will shoot the person who is holding a gun, teacher or not.
domtoidi
There was an armed policeman at the school shooting in Florida. He did nothing to stop the shooting.
There is your answer.
Toasted Heretic
Really? The only way?
Please define "good people". If I may enquire as to what does that mean? What's the exact criteria for that?
Personally, I reckon there's more than one way to stop this madness. It's so obvious I don't need to even say it.
Heartbreaking that the answer for some seems to be more guns. Where does it all end?
lostrune2
With less training than professional law enforcement officers, what if armed teachers end up inadvertently killing some of their own innocent students
How would that play out
For the victims' families, and for the teachers' psyche
Law enforcement officers prefer to avoid "blue on blue" engagements, a.k.a. friendly fire
When law enforcers arrive at a shooting situation, they don't know exactly which ones are the bad guys - as precaution and for their own safety, they have to presume that all shooters are the bad guys
If the teachers are also shooting guns, how would the law enforcers know which is which
The teachers could shout that they are the good guys - but the bad guys could shout the very same thing
And heaven help them if the bad guy is a teacher with a gun allowed in school - how would they know which teacher with a gun is the bad guy from another teacher with a gun who's a good guy
If teachers are armed, there would be more "blue on blue" engagements
M3M3M3
The assumption here is that the teachers are more sane and well adjusted than the students. I'm not so sure that's always the case. I've had a few unhinged and sadistic teachers in my school days.
Stop!Hammertime.
Their solution to the gun problem is more guns? What’s their cure for cancer? More cancer?
Félix Lorenzo Martín Moro
Far west is coming soon!! I think that it seems to extinguish a fire with gasoline
don-in-japan
Well... slight correction there, Glenn. Australia didn't ban guns after a "school shooting". It was after the Port Arthur massacre happened in 1996. I don't think Australia has EVER had a "school shooting".
On this: really? The answer to the guns issue in America is... let's have more guns. Sheesh. As a high school teacher, I'd really not like to be put into either situation - where I have to have my life threatened, OR I have to take the life of someone else.
Bintaro
I think we're losing sight of the real problem here : that school shootings are happening at all.
Arm the teachers if you wan't, put a hundred guards with sniper rifles, barricade every doors and windows, it doesn't change a thing : something like this is not normal !
Kabukilover
Ban the AR-15 style automatic rife to begin with.
mtuffizi
basic and simple, gun caused all this shooting issues, gun control is a must. training teachers to carry guns to protect students, absolutely insane and stupid idea.
mukashiyokatta
The obvious solution is for the US to bring itself in line with EVERY OTHER DEVELOPED COUNTRY in the world with regard to guns. Is there any practical reason why the US should be different?
maybeperhapsyes
Shockingly 1glenn...there is no law in the UK that states a police officer must put himself in harms way to protect anybody. He has a right to ensure his own safety first in any given situation.
Not sure if this applies in the US though.
1glenn
It takes many years to become a teacher in the States, and training with pistols is not part of the curriculum. There was an armed deputy Sheriff assigned to the school, and he refused to go anywhere near a perpetrator armed with an assault rifle, even though children's lives were at stake. He has resigned in disgrace. Two other armed sheriff's deputies are also under investigation for dereliction of duty. If law enforcement officers, who are theoretically trained in the use of firearms. could not be depended upon to save children's lives by confronting someone armed with a military assault rifle, what kind of super-heroics do we expect from the 4 foot 11 inch, sixty year old English teachers of this world?
Of course, doing what Australia did after their one and only school shooting, ban all guns, makes too much sense, so that isn't even part of the conversation.
dcog9065
TBH, in a country like America maybe this is the best solution. I don't see any hope at all for gun control so hoping for a ban on guns is a non starter whereas arming teachers seems possible. The world will look on in amusement in the meantime
Kabukilover
A more rational solution would be to outlaw the AR-15 style rifle, just as the machine gun was outlawed in the 1930s, with the NRA's support. Next, the US needs strict background checks and ownership regulations. We have a very good system here in Japan. No armed teachers needed here.
maybeperhapsyes
Heaven forbid...all it would take is just one stressed out teacher to go full loco to put this idea to bed.
Arming teachers is not the answer any more than vigilantes patrolling our streets in place of the police.
They are not trained and may not be up to the task of taking a life. Let alone living with the consequences. I see a future lawsuit being brought by a teacher who acted and is suffering as a result.
The schools should hire trained ex police/military. and if they can't afford it then the state should pay.
Strangerland
This really shows the cultural divide between America and the rest of the world. The rest of the world looks at the idea that teachers should be carrying concealed weapons at school as absolutely inane. In America, they have so many stupid people that they are actually thinking this is a good idea!
Americans always claim that things are different in America - maybe that difference is in levels of intelligence. What is it in the water there?
kawabegawa198
Well yes, of course. An armed teacher has a damned sight better chance of stopping a shooter than an unarmed one!
There really is only one way to stop these mass shootings, and that is to make sure more good people have guns; be it teachers or out-of-work veterans hired as security. You are never going to get anywhere demanding "less guns" or other such airy-fairy daydreaming as this.