Arm Our Teachers!
February 27, 2018
We live in a pretty terrifying world, and instead of sitting and waiting for it to get better we need to take action.
As of today, teachers in Pennsylvania are not allowed to actively carry a firearm on school property due to “The Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990.” This federal law makes it illegal for anyone “to knowingly possess a firearm “within 1,000 feet of a school zone.”
However, the Pennsylvania State Senate passed a bill over the summer that would have allowed educators or school staff to carry a concealed weapon with the right permits, but this bill never became a law.
At this point in our society, we need to take action. Gun control is great in theory, but how hard is it to lie your way through a test? Everyone gripes about the ability to lie about their gun application in the first place, but if they are lying now to get a gun do you really think more testing is going to make them be honest? If so, I would like to know what delusion you are living in.
Our school security system is flawed. Officer Bub is an amazing guy, but he is only one person and we have three schools to protect.
The administration will claim that our security is “solid” but it is all too easy to get into this school and with anything you want.
It takes nothing but the ring of a buzzer and a signature on a pass to gain access to any of our schools. No escort, no photo identification, not even walk through a metal detector. We have spent all this money on metal detectors, yet I haven’t been through one since my ninth grade year. If we are going to make it easy for people to gain access to our school, we need to make it just as easy to defend ourselves.
So let me ask you this, are we anything more than sitting ducks?
We have been through these drills since we have been in elementary school about safety in emergencies, but what is sitting against the wall going to do? Make me an easier target? I’m sorry, but if there was ever a school shooter I would want to know that someone would be able to protect me.
No, I’m not saying to arm every single teacher. If you force a gun on someone that is insanely dangerous.
These need to be teachers that already have concealed permits or even ones who would be willing to get one. Put them through an education course with the local and state police to ensure that they have the competence and responsibility.
We need to take action. We should not have to have our students worried about their lives rather than their education in a place that we have been promised is safe.
Arm the teachers.
Arm the staff.
Arm the custodians.
Arm any school official that is willing to take on that responsibility.
I’m also aware that someone is going to make the argument ‘What about first responders being able to distinguish the shooter and the teachers?’ If we would be serious about this there would have to be a code word, or a signal, or a system of identification out into place to protect our staff.
To say that ‘It will never happen here’ is just ridiculous. Look around! It’s 2018 and our society sucks! If we can’t stop it, we might as well try to prepare and get ahead of it.
Arm our teachers. Save our students. Protect our school.
Jay Isenberg • Feb 21, 2020 at 1:55 pm
In response to Unknown: *You’re 😉
smol boi • Jan 16, 2019 at 9:45 am
well done, well done. there are ups and downs to arming teachers. we should only arm the teachers that are willing to have that responsibility. in a real scenario, where we are meant to use our binders/backpacks to shield ourselves. while most shooters prefer AR-15s, which normally shoot 5.56 ammunition. a 5.56 bullet would most likely shred through binders/backpacks and desks, because it will do so to a human. we need to arm our teachers who are willing to protect our students.
Caleb Orr • Mar 2, 2018 at 12:10 pm
In pursuit of the truth, “Unknown”, you should not have to resort to name calling (“delusional”).
Jamie Lynch • Mar 2, 2018 at 9:26 am
In response to Logan P. – It doesn’t cost millions to arm teachers. And I’ll say it again, it doesn’t cost millions to arm teachers. Also the second amendment was put into place by those before not so that people could own guns for hunting or sport, BUT TO DEFEND THEMSELVES. End of discussion. Guns are needed in today’s society for protection, ability to feed families, and for even game or sport. There are millions of people who own guns of every shape, size, caliper, and design.
Another point to look at for those who bring up the topic of not arming teachers because they shouldn’t have to defend us or kill a student. Well when a teacher is hired, it is part of their job to protect their students. Teachers are our parents away from home. They protect us in more ways than one every single day. But when we look at all the options for arming our teachers, no one ever said that they had to use real ammunition. It doesn’t have to be deadly. There are salt “bullets” and rubber bullets that can be used as a deterrent. These armed teachers aren’t to be out actively seeking the shooter and trying to stop the situation. They are to protect the students close to them if the shooter would approach. Not necessarily by killing the shooter, but by deterring his actions.
Nick • Mar 1, 2018 at 1:08 pm
It is not in the job description of an educator for them having to carry firearms and use them to kill. They are here to educate, it is what the school pays them for.
Unknown • Mar 1, 2018 at 10:09 am
If you think that giving a teacher a gun to try and stop an active shooter is gonna help, then your delusional. We do not need teachers with guns, we need more security. We need more guns, more medal detectors, and a great way to make sure that we stay safe is if we have teachers at at every entrance in the morning checking students bags. I think this would be a great way to protect us and others in this school.
Devon Henninger • Mar 1, 2018 at 9:49 am
Yes, I believe arming teachers is for the better. The teachers would be volunteers into a program, not force, and the school would pay for the training. Whenever there is a threat at the school they will get into a lock box located somewhere within the classroom, that only the teacher and school security has the code to. Then, stage inside of the classroom. Not go on a manhunt. The guns would be used for defense to protect the students and themselves, instead of being defenseless and huddle in a corner for the police.
logan p again • Mar 1, 2018 at 9:02 am
u can spend millions arming teacher and training them…or u can change the second ammendment :^)
Mia Kosoglow • Mar 1, 2018 at 9:00 am
Protection and security are important, but arming the teachers is not the way to achieve these goals. By giving the teachers guns, more problems are caused then solved. I’m not say I don’t want security – because I do – I’m just saying that there are smarter ways to provide it.
reagan wood • Mar 1, 2018 at 8:57 am
i agree we need better security and protection, but I don’t think arming teachers would actually help with security. Many teachers would not be trained properly and would most likely not be in a stable mindset if there was an actual shooter situation.
Nick DelBaggio • Mar 1, 2018 at 8:08 am
I think that if we armed the teachers, it may cause more chaos than good.
Luke E Brenneman • Mar 1, 2018 at 7:36 am
I don’t think that the teachers should be armed. Many of the teachers are not trained properly, and they would not have the mindset to be able to kill an active shooter.
Anna-Lynn Fryer • Feb 28, 2018 at 8:03 pm
I agree that adding more security to our school is important, but arming teachers is not a smart solution. If this did go into effect, then the shooter wouldn’t hesitate to shoot the teacher, and what happens if the shooter kills one of our armed teachers? Well, first off the kids that were under the protection of the armed teacher are now in danger, and the shooter now has one more extra gun, thanks to the teacher. Teachers became teachers to educate, not shoot kids. We should leave the protection of children to trained professionals. And yes while it may be more expensive, at least we’d know that they are trained.
Emily Detwiler • Feb 28, 2018 at 7:58 pm
I agree that there should be more security in our schools
Daniel Parker • Feb 28, 2018 at 4:52 pm
Agreed.
Nick Vasbinder • Feb 28, 2018 at 4:48 pm
A safer environment is what we need, and more protection, with the people trained to handle said protection, need to be implemented into our school lives. The lives of the children in our schools right now are not as safe as they could/should be, and that’s a problem. It’s a problem worth taking the time and maturity to solve.
ebonee rice • Feb 28, 2018 at 2:34 pm
I agree that our school needs more security, but giving teachers guns would create more issues than solve them. For one, even if teachers enrolled in a gun training program, that doesn’t mean they would take action. School shooters are usually students, teachers know them and have nurtured them for years. There is no guarantee that a teacher could kill them. Also, it would create more chaos. If a teacher is armed with no experience, a student could easily get shot by accident. Arming teachers is not the solution, but more security is.
Madison • Feb 28, 2018 at 2:32 pm
I do not agree with teachers being armed. They didn’t get hired to protect us and most students wouldn’t feel safe in a classroom with a teacher who was carrying a gun.
Alicia Endress • Feb 28, 2018 at 2:22 pm
Arming teachers would be more of a safety hazard than a way to protect students. The guns in the classrooms would need to be easily accessible and loaded in order to be effective in a school shooting situation. This would make guns even more accessible to people who intend to use a gun for harmful purposes.
Kevin Lehner • Feb 28, 2018 at 2:07 pm
I agree with arming teachers as long as the weapon is kept safe and out of students reach. But other than that I agree with the facts and this opinion.
carson mayhew • Feb 28, 2018 at 12:39 pm
great use of facts and i think they should be armed
Joel Groseclose • Feb 28, 2018 at 12:28 pm
I do not agree with teachers carrying weapons. They should not be armed. It will only add chaos and disorder in situations. I believe we should have a bigger security force or security measures consisting of people who are trained to handle this situations and act within a moments notice.
Cate Baran • Feb 28, 2018 at 12:18 pm
There are other approaches our school could take before jumping to guns.
Ally Jones • Feb 28, 2018 at 12:18 pm
There are MANY precautions our school can take before we go to the extreme of arming our staff.
Megan Dale • Feb 28, 2018 at 12:05 pm
Good in theory, bad in practice.
Grace LeGars • Feb 28, 2018 at 11:59 am
Yes, we need more security.
Brent j Mcneel • Feb 28, 2018 at 11:55 am
When examining solutions to the epidemic of gun violence, one response is what comes to my mind. The answer that I believe would be a good compromise to both ends of the political spectrum is more armed security in schools. I am not simply saying that we should arm all teachers, what I am saying is hire more officers and security to protect the students in our school. I don’t believe that more gun control is the correct answer. Activists for more gun control believe in mostly banning AR-15 style firearms. However, most violent crime in the united states is caused by pistols, not AR-15 style firearms. The opposition never goes after pistols because they know that a ban on pistols is unconstitutional. Another solution brought up by the left is that we need to raise the age to be able to buy a firearm from 18 to 21. However, the majority of mass shooters in the past five years have been at the age of 21 or over, so this law would not have kept them from getting a gun. A perfect example of why gun control is ineffective in the united states is the city of Chicago. Chicago has some of the strictest gun laws in the country but the crime rate is one of the largest in the country. Lots of gun control activists like to bring un the crime rates falling in Australia after they banned guns entirely. First, we can not do that in the united states because of the 2nd amendment. Also, I would rather be talking about solutions that would work in AMERICA, not around the world. And we have seen that in the united states gun control is ineffective. (Chicago) I also believe that if a teacher has obtained a concealed carry permit to use outside of school they should be able to carry in schools. If we trust law-abiding teachers/ citizens to carry in public places, I believe they should be allowed to carry in schools. In short, I believe that the only way to solve this problem is more security in schools.
Brianna Foy • Feb 28, 2018 at 11:53 am
I agree with you on this. The points you made were valid. I have had the same opinion on this even before reading this. Reading this, it drove me even more to this side. I think that by arming teachers, or staff, we would be a lot safer. I agree with you 100%
Tyler Beckwith • Feb 28, 2018 at 11:53 am
I fully agree with your argument. It provides facts about the laws in our state which is very good. While also providing your opinion and solution to this problem. Overall well done.
Nathan Walk • Feb 28, 2018 at 11:52 am
The problem with arming teachers is that many of them don’t want to be armed. If we force guns upon them, I don’t think that would help much. If they don’t want the guns, they might not even use them during a crisis. I do however think that we need some type of armed professionals in the school. More security guards would help keep the school safer and they would be better suited in a crisis situation.
logan p • Feb 28, 2018 at 8:44 am
no lol
Tom McCaffrey • Feb 27, 2018 at 12:39 pm
As a former Emotional Support teacher who worked with at risk students, the last idea that I feel would be a solution would be to arm myself so I could shoot my students.
Rob smith • Feb 27, 2018 at 12:23 pm
Cost:
The discussion of arming teachers is ti allow teachers who volunteer to carry their own firearms not supplying firearms to them. Training would be given by the local police department who would be willing ti volunteer their time on qualification standards. These are the same stanards your local law enforcement is held to. Ranges would volunteer their space at no charge to help.
Undue danger during a situation:
These teachers would not be actively clearing rooms and seeking the shooter. but instead protecting the students and staff in their immediate area.
School safety and security needs to be a real discussion in our community. our government Doesn’t discuss school safety after a shooting because everyone focuses on gun control instead. Gun control brings feelings from both political parties and often results in nothing meaningful being done. School safety is something I believe both republicans and democrats can agree on and make meaningful changes to our schools. For now the politicians are offering “Thought and prayers” while our students are at risk of another tragedy.
Zachary Neff • Feb 27, 2018 at 11:40 am
I agree completely on this. Arming our teachers would not only protect us, but detour away potential shooters.
I’ve heard different arguments as to “oh then the shooter wont even have to bring a gun, they could pick it up off the teachers desk or pull it out of their holster.” No teacher is going to let the gun on their desk, nor show the kids they have one until an emergency situation commences. Also you cant just pick a gun up out of a holster, there are buttons latches and everything else to prevent this. I have also heard “What if the kid just knocks the teacher out, takes the weapon and shoots up the school.” Honestly listening to that just hurts my brain, the chances of a kid attempting that are slim to none, and its just unrealistic. Arm our teachers!.
Jamie Lynch • Feb 27, 2018 at 11:26 am
I see what you are saying, but you bring up the point of cost. Let me ask you, do you know how much the average armed guard makes in a month? $15.00 per hour. For 180 school days at roughly eight hours a day that would mean a $21,600 yearly salary for only ONE officer. For a school our size and set up we need at least three extra officers. Whereas, a Ruger American Pistol – 9mm is $450.00 with a box of ammunition being $17.00 a box for 25. So if we armed 10 teachers with gun and single box of ammunition it would cost $4,670. Which is your cheaper option? So looking at it from your point of view it would still be more expensive to hire more armed guards to have in place at the school. Also, in the case of a school shooting our teachers would be able to take action and possibly diffuse the situation before first responders were able to arrive. If an active shooter situation takes only five minutes to happen, but average police response time is seven minutes how do you expect them to do anything. We need a system of front line defense, and we have the ability to do it.
Benedict DelBaggio • Feb 27, 2018 at 10:07 am
I understand your concern about school shootings, but you need to understand in a active shooter situation arming the teachers and other staff will just cause chaos for the police and lead to more needless death, overall we need to not arm school staff but instead have more Officer Bubs.