Teachers and Firearms

Should teachers be allowed to carry firearms in a public school? The fact that we must consider such a question is a sad commentary on our country.

School violence has been in the news on a regular basis for a number of years now. The more media attention it receives, the worse it seems to get.

My first reaction is that in some of the inner city schools (stereotyping here), violence is more common than in smaller rural schools. I wouldn't want my daughter teaching in such schools. I would worry about her every day. However, school violence isn't confined to those schools. It happens in schools of all sizes and locations.

One would hope that the training and licensing process would weed out those individuals who should not carry a weapon. I doubt that it would. Proficiency, knowledge of safety procedures and such will not insure that the person carrying the firearm won't react in a way that jeopardizes the innocent kids in the event of an incident.

I think the best solution might be to hire or train a safety officer. Such an individual would preferably have police training and experience. In the event that they do not, they should go through training similar to what law enforcement officers do. There should only be one or two per campus. An administrator might be the preferred individual in the event that an outside safety officer is not hired. Our own school system utilizes the local police department and has an officer on campus when classes are in session.

I wonder what might be the liability issues for the school district?