Teachers need resources to "teach" ~ not guns

To arm teachers with guns is an idea that gets an "F" grade from a Pensacola Florida resident. A letter to the editor by Tim Walters writer explains about why arming teachers with guns is a failed response to gun violence in schools.

Mass shooting definition ~ One strict definition used in the past by the federal government says at least four victims must be killed.

From the Pensacola News Journal

Arming teachers is a bad idea.

What do I know? I'll tell you. I'm a parent of a 3-year-old who will be entering the school system next year thanks to VPK (volunteer pre-kindergarden), and my wife is a middle school teacher.

I'm incredibly against teachers having guns in school.

I know not everyone agrees with me. 

But most, if not all the people I’ve debated on this subject are

• not teachers
• don’t have kids in school
• not teachers and don't have kids in school

The legislation being proposed by the Florida State Senate says a voluntary Florida Sheriff’s Marshall Program will be put in place, and teachers “may carry concealed, approved firearms on campus. The firearms must be specifically purchased and issued for the sole purpose of the program. Only concealed carry safety holsters and firearms approved by the sheriff may be used under the program.”

Is this really what we want instead of more security and improvements to secure entry to schools?

I understand that the process to vet these teachers is going to be extensive, but that’s not what worries me.

One scenario

Let's say a shooter walks into a school and starts firing. The armed teacher then unholsters their gun in front of the class. He or she ventures out into the halls, leaving their class unattended.

The teacher then spots the shooter through a sea of frantic students running everywhere.

The shooter is firing into that mass of students. Does the teacher fire back?

If so, we'd have a crossfire that now has the teacher potentially killing students accidentally while firing at the gunman.

This isn’t Hollywood. Liam Neeson isn’t going to calmly walk out of a classroom and kill a gunman with one pull of the trigger.
If a teacher decides not to engage because of student safety, is he later labeled a coward by the national media because he didn't discharge his weapon?

And when the police arrive, they don’t know who the armed teacher is. What happens if an officer accidentally kills the teacher, thinking he/she is the gunman?

No, the idea of making teachers provide weaponized protection in schools sounds worse the more I hear it.

What needs to happen

Make schools safer. Hire more security. But don't make the teachers the basis for defense. They don't get paid enough, and it's not a good idea.

I also have to wonder who our future educators will be. Think about it, they already get paid so little. Now they have to be armed protection. I think a lot of talented potential educators will find a different path in life. Then, who does that leave to teach our children?

While many debate it, and politicians filibuster rather than answer tough questions, I have some ideas on how to start fixing things:

• You’d need funds to secure schools. Let’s make firearm owners pay for a license with a yearly renewal, just like drivers, boaters, hunters, fishers and bars must have, and use that yearly revenue to harden schools or hire more security.
• For those who don’t know, you don’t need a license to own a gun. Let’s start requiring that. Then we can track who owns which guns. Wouldn’t that make sense?
• For even more funds to enhance school security, let’s make a percentage of each gun sale go to that same fund. I suggest 10 percent. Cigarettes and alcohol are taxed, why not guns?
• I’d adopt regulations like sports stadiums: only see-through bags or no backpacks allowed in schools. We live in the digital age. It’s time to do away with heavy books and have all materials available online. Then backpacks become less needed.
• We should ensure there’s only one point of entry at a school. In many schools, the front office is the only way in, and all other doors are locked. But many schools aren’t there yet. We need to get there.
• If a student is expelled from any level of school, they can’t purchase a gun until after their 25th birthday, and even then, they must pass a mental health check before being allowed to purchase a gun. In fact, personally, I think all people who want guns should have to pass a mental health background test.

If we start taking these steps, we can get to a point where schools will be safer.

I’d rather live in a world where we take steps to make the schools safer, and give teachers the best resources to teach, rather than hearing our politicians and police officials essentially say, “there’s nothing we can do to stop a shooter, so let’s arm teachers.”

We’re better than that.

Tim Walters is a columnist at Florida Today, a member of the USA Today Florida Network. He can be contacted at twalters@floridatoday.com.

MaineWriter ~ In my opinion, teachers need resources to teach. Instead of paying for more guns, the National Rifle Association (NRA) should be required to pay for the safety upgrades necessary to protect every child and school staff in all American schools.

Jamelle Bouie ~ Reporting in SLATE- For all of the killing, though, it’s striking how little Americans have actually seen of the violence. We are shown the aftermath, and sometimes—as with Parkland—we see victims hiding or escaping. But we don’t see what the bullets actually do. We don’t see the crumpled bodies or the bloody hallways, the mutilation that results when a medium-caliber round leaves a high-powered rifle and strikes a living person, tearing flesh, destroying bone, and leaving them either dead or gravely wounded. 

Sadly, for the public, mass shootings are bloodless.