Teachers With Guns (What's the Problem?)

Okay, you've divorced a guy but have reason to believe he may have gone into your home while you weren't there. You get a restraining order and a concealed weapons permit and a gun. Problem? You're a teacher and want to carry the gun to school but the district (in Oregon) has a no weapons policy. What to do? Sue, of course.

This story appeared in the Mail Tribune newspaper in southern Oregon.

Where to start? First, I feel for this woman but, as a parent, I would feel worried if I knew my child's teacher was in a situation that she felt her life endangered and she was with my child for 8 hours a day. It's a horrible situation for everyone.

Second, this article points out that her lawyer says that state statute is contrary to the district's policy and that the law trumps the policy. (I wonder if that is true in Washington state?)

"Both state and federal laws prohibit carrying a firearm on campus, according to Gerking. However, the laws come with exemptions, including one for holders of a concealed handgun license."

From the article,

"Following the shootings at Virginia Tech, in addition to shootings at Columbine High School in Colorado and Thurston High School in Springfield, a desire among teachers to carry guns has risen. A university in Utah challenged a law that allows concealed weapons on public property and lost, thereby permitting guns on campus."

Some problems?

"Even if it's a totally legitimate person with a legitimate permit — can you adequately guarantee that it will not fall into the hands of a student?" Moran asked. "You can't."

Long said he worried about what would happen if a crisis broke out on campus, and someone other than law enforcement officers was in possession of a gun.

Crisis plans worked out with local law enforcement agencies are "predicated on the idea that if there's someone on our campus and they have a weapon, they're not supposed to be there," Long said. "The law enforcement people would act appropriately." "

I like that phrase "act appropriately" meaning the police would open fire without asking on anyone who was carrying a gun during a crisis situation. That's exactly what I would expect to happen. They don't have time to figure out who the good guys with the guns are versus the bad guys with guns.

Also frightening was this comment from a reader posted at the bottom of the article:

"If teachers cannot be trusted to have guns at work, then they should not be trusted to teach our children."

Only in America.