Teachers to wear guns in South Dakota

[Still Waters]

The US state of South Dakota has passed a law allowing schools to arm teachers and other staff with guns.

In a measure the state said would help stop massacres like the one at Sandy Hook Elementary school in Connecticut in December, so-called "school sentinels" will be tasked with protecting children.

The controversial measure was signed by Governor Dennis Daugaard, a Republican, and will go into effect on July 1.

http://www.telegraph...uth-Dakota.html

[Stellar]

Why dont we just give the kids guns too. That way they can defend themselves. I mean... what if someone tries to kill them in the hallway? The teacher is not going to arrive in time! ARM THE KIDS!

[Ashotep]

It's better than putting cops in schools. No nut case would dare try to massacre children if they knew some of the teachers were armed.

Edited March 9, 2013 by Hilander

[Taun]

I sure hope they Train the teachers as well... just turning them loose with handguns would be rather dangerous...

Not every one can pull the trigger when pointing at another human... Putting holes in paper targets is one thing but shooting a person is another entirely...

Edited March 9, 2013 by Taun

[+and-then]

Why dont we just give the kids guns too. That way they can defend themselves. I mean... what if someone tries to kill them in the hallway? The teacher is not going to arrive in time! ARM THE KIDS!

If the teacher in the Sandy Hook classroom had been armed there is a decent chance that those TWENTY first graders would still be alive this day. Maybe she'd have been shot dead before she even drew a weapon but MAYBE is a hell of a lot better than no chance at all. For the record, I'm against casually arming anyone who does not want that responsibility and who is not willing to train to handle it. Using firearms requires good sense and some skill and judgement. Not all teachers have those attributes just as not all farmers, firemen or US presidents don't.

[Stellar]

If the teacher in the Sandy Hook classroom had been armed there is a decent chance that those TWENTY first graders would still be alive this day. Maybe she'd have been shot dead before she even drew a weapon but MAYBE is a hell of a lot better than no chance at all. For the record, I'm against casually arming anyone who does not want that responsibility and who is not willing to train to handle it. Using firearms requires good sense and some skill and judgement. Not all teachers have those attributes just as not all farmers, firemen or US presidents don't.

Ah. So one what-if scenario makes it a good idea. Well. If the first graders were armed, maybe they would have killed the armed guy too.

More guns & less gun control = more gun deaths. You want a real solution to protecting the kids? Put the paranoia aside and start with gun registration. That way at least the flow of guns to the black market is cut down. Following that, place some sensible gun control measures in place so that guns aren't lying around the house loaded, easily accessible to those who shouldn't get them.

[Michelle]

I'm not a fan of this at all. First and foremost, the authorities have to start cracking down on people that commit crimes with guns. Unless they start doing this no amount of gun control is going to work. Second, the media has gotten everyone in such a frenzy people are buying guns and taking a very short class on how to use them...especially women. The majority of them are not like me, who has been trained from a very early age to use one. Due to unfortunate circumstances, I've already had to search my soul on whether I could pull the trigger or not. Now. we have a lot more paranoid people, with almost no skill whatsoever, carrying a firearm.

I know several women that have recently taken the class and started carrying. They showed me their cute new purses, that have an easy access pocket for their new pink guns. It disturbs me that they are more focused on their guns fashionable accessories.

[Wickian]

Under the new law school districts will decide in a public meeting whether to arm teachers. Residents will be able to force a public vote if they disagree with the decision. Teachers will not be forced to carry a weapon against their will and will receive firearms training.

That seems fair to me. Let the communities decide.

[Sir Wearer of Hats]

I'm a teacher.

There are classes that try every wit, drain the very last of your emotional resources, that will literally push you until you break.

Now arm that teacher. Arm the teacher who has the class from hell. Arm them on their very worst day.

What happens next is a tragedy no matter how you cut it.

[Frank Merton]

Sooner or later a teacher, in a moment of distraction or carelessness, is going to do something that enables a kid to play with one of these guns and there is going to be a tragedy. Such things are known in law as "attractive nuisances."

Or maybe some teacher is going to go off the deep end in a moment of fury at a student. A gun so handy is asking for disaster.

Lots of such "or maybes" arise when you have guns around like that.

[Arbenol]

This topic should be cross referenced with this one:

http://www.unexplain...opic=243350&hl=

[+and-then]

Ah. So one what-if scenario makes it a good idea. Well. If the first graders were armed, maybe they would have killed the armed guy too.

More guns & less gun control = more gun deaths. You want a real solution to protecting the kids? Put the paranoia aside and start with gun registration. That way at least the flow of guns to the black market is cut down. Following that, place some sensible gun control measures in place so that guns aren't lying around the house loaded, easily accessible to those who shouldn't get them.

Being absurd isn't becoming in you Stellar. So if I purchase a Glock or an AK 47 and some government twit has that info on a database somewhere, how, exactly, is that going to keep it off the "black market"? All registration will do is make it possible for the government to impose sanctions on me at some point. That does zero to stop a weapon being stolen or inadvertently sold to the wrong individual. Sell the anti gun freedom rhetoric to someone else - not interested in it.

[Stellar]

Being absurd isn't becoming in you Stellar. So if I purchase a Glock or an AK 47 and some government twit has that info on a database somewhere, how, exactly, is that going to keep it off the "black market"? All registration will do is make it possible for the government to impose sanctions on me at some point. That does zero to stop a weapon being stolen or inadvertently sold to the wrong individual. Sell the anti gun freedom rhetoric to someone else - not interested in it.

Absurd? The whole topic is absurd! The gun registration does much more than that! It ensures that people do not sell their guns to those that should not have them! It keeps people accountable for their actions! If you don't report a stolen gun: you are accountable. If you skip the background checks and sell a gun to a criminal? You are accountable! The ATF themselves say that a huge number of the guns making it to the black market come from the same 1% of dealers that feed it for a quick buck. A registration would stop that quick. Your worry of the government imposing sanctions on you "at some point" is preventing you from taking the necessary steps to reduce gun violence at *this* point.

[iNvRG]

They should also put signs on the entrances that say "This school has armed teachers". What person with intent to kill as many people will try doing a rampage where others have a means to end their spree?

[libstaK]

I'm a teacher.

There are classes that try every wit, drain the very last of your emotional resources, that will literally push you until you break.

Now arm that teacher. Arm the teacher who has the class from hell. Arm them on their very worst day.

What happens next is a tragedy no matter how you cut it.

Bingo, exactly what I was thinking - you would think students have never sent teachers off the deep end according to this idealistic little armed teachers paradise they are hell bent on creating.

[SHaYap]

firearms and kids in puberty together

all day long ... nothing good is going to come of this

[Thanato]

Arming teachers is the worst thing that could happen. They dont have proper training, yes you can put them through a weekend course and have them shoot at the range but that wont prepare you for anything but shooting at the range. You need to be put through months, if not years, of training to be able to instinctively pull the trigger on the right target in a high stress situation. You have to be able to instantly Identify friend from foe while your adrenaline is flowing and you scared out of your mind. You have to be able to concentrate on what is around you instead of getting tunnel vision. Unless teachers are put through a a minimum of a few months of training in the use of the firearm in a tactical situation, where they have training to deal with the stress, then don't give them firearms. Their jobs are already incredibly stressful as it is.

The best option is to hire a security guard or a police officer who's sole job is to be armed and protect people. Train that person to be the first line of defence against any problems, hell hire 2 people or 3. In the end you will more then likely save money and lives.

If I found out that the school my son was at had armed teachers I would pull him and send him to another school. This isn't because I hate guns (contrary I use guns regularly and am in the process of getting my firearms license to own them), I just know how the body reacts while on a 2-way range.

~Thanato

[Commander CMG]

A bit extreme, but I guess the cane has never been enough of a deterrent to the American school kids.

[little_dreamer]

Well, that's one way to get the kids to behave. There's been kids who have shot and killed teachers already.

[ExpandMyMind]

I'm sorry America, but this is one of the most idiotic things I've ever heard.

The only place I know that also allowed teachers to be armed is Israel. The one massive difference between the two situations is that the Israeli teachers will have already served in the military and will have been trained - to an extremely high standard - in using such weapons. While you have cops in America aren't even trained with firearms to an especially high standard.

Wow. I'd love to say that I didn't see this coming.

Edited March 9, 2013 by ExpandMyMind

[AsteroidX]

Temporarily I guess I can see why places are choosing to go this routre. This is a situation/problem weve never seen before and have faced to many mass school shootings to sit idly by and do nothing. So IMO doing something even if in the long run it turns out not to be the best solution is better then doing nothing at all. Hopefully sanity will prevail and we can all move along someday soon.

[F3SS]

Alright people, this headline is a tad misleading. The law says teachers will be allowed to carry. It doesn't say teachers will be issued a curriculum and a sidearm when school starts. It also says it will vary district to district based on a public community vote. Letting the communities decide is a lot better than the state or Feds deciding for them. Also, it didn't see a mention of it but I optimistically doubt that teachers will be certified to carry in class after a mere weekend course.

Many threads ago I drafted an idea just like this and focused on teachers carrying only voluntarily and anonymously after an extensive training course similar to mock scenarios that perhaps SWAT and state troopers may have to endure which also includes mental evaluation and certification. I'd add recertification every couple years. Anonymous except to the school board and the principal so that no teacher knows who's who and no kids will either. Only thing that everyone will know is that someone is armed but not who.

I know some teachers might be on the verge of a nervous breakdown but those types won't likely pass the mental evaluations. Teachers going postal would be very unlikely. Seriously, I don't recall ever hearing about a teacher going postal before. Not saying some haven't lost their minds and done something stupid but I know of none who have came in one day and lit up a class full of kids. Yea, I know some will think that it could come without planning and be spur of the moment if there is already a gun in the classroom but as I said before it's very likely that only that most reasonable level headed people would be certified to carry in the school.

Edited March 9, 2013 by -Mr_Fess-

[SHaYap]

certification ?

what is that ?

a license to kill on school compound enclosure and its adjacent vicinity ?

how far does a lethal stray bullet flies I wonder ?

[Sakari]

A smart state indeed, this solution was a no brainer......

[minera]

That is the stupidest thing I have heard yet. Behavior starts at home and parents will have to take back control of their kids, teach them respect for others and of authority. Better yet assign a school officer from the police department who can work with the kids and is available during an emergency. I have visions of irate teachers shooting up the classroom they have lost control of. Not a good move in my books.