I am adamantly opposed to the current bill that would allow (really, encourage) teachers to carry guns in their schools. I am convinced that securing school doors is a better, smarter, less risky option for our children. Securing the doors eliminates the risk that a gun on school property falls into the wrong hands, makes schools more secure and keeps the bad guys out. Schools across our state do not have secure doors like most daycare facilities do.
Guns in schools legislation is dangerous and risky and no one knows yet what the consequences of it will be.
Our legislature should give each school the funds to secure their doors rather than arm teachers (whose job is to teach, not provide security) or post armed guards. Each of these options brings guns into our schools... when what we really want is to get guns out of our schools.
Real life is not like in the movies - even a teacher trained to use a gun doesn't fire one perfect shot and take out the bad guy. If schools can keep the bad guys out, no one “needs” a gun inside.
Heather DeGaetano
Chattanooga
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Are you aware of the recent shooting at the elementary school which had security doors requiring that visitors be buzzed in? The problem came when someone familiar to the school (i.e. a teacher's son) shows up, gets let in, and then goes crazy.
Or you could look back to VA Tech: the student, who would have made it through your dreamy security doors, actually chained and locked the doors to the building prior to firing the first shot.
I'm not going to say that arming every teacher is a good idea, but keeping a school a gun free zone only makes it a soft target.
Tim Giordano
Knoxville
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I might have given Roy Exum a bit leeway but can't. Guns do not belong in schools whether holstered and at my side; in a locked cabinet or secure office.
I would like to put the myth that guns somehow will protect children forever in the bin of discarded stupid ideas. In a word familiar to farm families, "hog wash."
Let me give you an up close and personal trip down memory lane. For those that have not been in a school building since your own experience schools are already a bit different. Lock downs are common and practiced. Kids know the routines. They work well. Secure doors and etc. might mitigate further the risk of an intruder. I like that idea.
My professional work in the school system was with conduct/disturbed children. Witnessing aggressive and dangerous behaviors on the part of students was seen enough to know that if I had a weapon secured to my person and out of control student, larger then me, could overpower and take the weapon. Even a student, small in stature, can gain strength beyond when enraged. I know because it was me that might have to restrain a student out of control and striking out at others.
But let me now move my argument to the gun in the locked cabinet and it is in a classroom. An incident occurs in the building. I am not in my classroom instead attending a meeting in another part of the building. What is the value of that gun in school? Are you safer knowing that I cannot get to my gun and further are your children safer?
The other scenario is the gun locked up in an office. Let us assign that gun to the principal's office. That same intruder and he, the principal, is in the same meeting with me. Folks, the absurdity of argument for guns in schools just does not hold up to reason. An intelligent, balanced and careful thinker would agree with me if they could just get off the NRA fluff machine.
To take the absurdity of the argument in favor of NRA why not train and arm everybody? That everybody is meant everybody, ie kids, custodial staff, bus drivers, pizza delivery, edible creations, plumbers, painters and every mom that drives her children to school each day.
Robert J. Brooks
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Once you accept the reality that we're not going to be able to prevent crazed gunmen from gaining access to schools (short of turning the school into a military bunker), the solution becomes a matter of logic: When a gunman begins shooting up a school, would you prefer everyone be unarmed and unable to fight back, or would you prefer one of the good guys has a gun to protect the innocents and stop the gunman.
Would having armed personnel in schools ensure these shootings stop? Absolutely not, but it would all but guarantee that the number of victims would drop, and who knows, maybe some of them really could be totally prevented. If it saved a single life, it would surely be worth it.
I recently saw a picture on Facebook that depicted two different signs, and it posed the question "Which one of these signs would prevent another tragedy?" One of the signs said "All weapons are prohibited on these premises." The other one read "Staff heavily armed and trained. Any attempt to harm children will be met with deadly force." One of those signs screams "I'm a target." The other one does not. I'll let you figure out which is which.
Gunmen go where they are the only ones with the guns. Even if you are against teachers being armed, you can't make a logical argument against having armed guards in schools, considering the times we live in and the fact that we now know that absolutely no one is off limits as a target.
Dallas Cole
Chattanooga
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Robert, I suggest you put down your comic books. Get yourself back into reality. We have no super heroes or powers. We can't enable force-fields around buildings or people. Instead, we defend ourselves with what's available. Guns, cars, drugs. Are all good things that people abuse and then some folk call those good things bad. Crooks abuse guns. Drunkards abuse alcohol/cars. Addicts abuse drugs. Liberals abuse the rights of law abiding citizens to own guns.
You can play "what if" all you want. But bringing a knife or pepper spray to a gun fight will always result in a win of the gun carrier.
I love western movies. Everyone had a gun on their hips. No big deal, just the daily norm for protection and hunting. Even in the saloons full of intoxicated patrons, no one walked in there and started shooting everybody because everyone in there was carrying.
Having the bad guy know you have what he's got is a huge deterrent of being attacked. Don't believe me? Lets go all out and get rid of our nukes too and watch what Russia does to us.
Michael Burns
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Mr. Brooks, how many guns have been taken away from SRO officers?
Rick Watts
Chattanooga