Comments on: I’m up in arms… Guns at school?!?!?

By: Jessica G.

Jessica G. — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 01:23:36 +0000

I’m another one of those people who grew up with guns in the home but also had parents who were smart enough to teach us about them. For a while, I was even licensed to carry a gun (made for interesting conversation while dating!) but am not any longer. This is one of those arguments that can go back and forth without ever coming to an agreement.

I do not think guns should be allowed in schools except those carried by police officers. As JmeL said, you just can’t win in that situation, no matter what your intentions may be.

By: amberlicious

amberlicious — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 18:33:16 +0000

http://bci.utah.gov/CFP/CFLCarry.html
It is unlawful to carry concealed weapons into:
* Any secure area in which firearms are prohibited and notice of the prohibition is posted
* A secure area of an airport
* Any courthouse, churches if posted, mental health facility or correctional facility that may provide by rule that no firearm may be transported, sold, given, or possessed upon the facility. At least one notice shall be prominently displayed at each entrance to a secure area in which a dangerous weapon, firearm, or explosive is restricted

Churches includes The LDS church in Utah. FYI.

I also respect the 2nd amendment. But if it’s not violating our 2nd amendment rights to prohibit guns in courthouses then why is it violating our rights to prohibit them in schools?

By: Gina

Gina — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 17:57:34 +0000

Hey,
I know you probably won’t agree with me but,I grew up with several guns in my house, and was taught to not touch them. My Dad is a hunter and works for the Police Department and has taught me to respect the 2nd amendment. I believe that guns are not bad and that we should be able to have them in accordance to the laws to protect ourselves.

I for one would absolutely feel safer knowing that my teacher or my daughters teacher had the ability to protect me or her if anyone were to storm the school or classroom.

By: amberlicious

amberlicious — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 16:59:36 +0000

A thing that shocks me though is it’s not just teachers who can bring a gun to school. ANYONE can bring a gun into a school if they have a permit to carry a concealed weapon. That includes not only teachers, but aides, librarians, janitors, lunch ladies, and visitors. None of these people have to tell anyone that they are doing it.

I looked into the rules for getting a concealed weapons permit. You pay $65, don’t have a criminal background and take a 4 hour class. That’s it. So basically anyone can have a permit to carry a weapon. Which means just anyone can carry a weapon into a school.

By: Lucy

Lucy — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 15:37:58 +0000

Sad that this is even a debate.

By: Rebecca

Rebecca — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 05:29:34 +0000

I agree with Kristi. My father had guns in our home and we were taught all the safety rules and knew that they were not a toy. It is all a matter of education. My problem with guns in schools is two things:

1. It’s scary enough to send our children into the hands of strangers without them having a weapon for them to misuse. Just like students, not all teachers are good.

2. When giving a teacher a gun, you are potentially putting “law enforcment” into the hands of someone who is untrained to handle stressful situations. The scenario of the teacher who shoots a student that he perceived as a threat. Would there have been a better way to handle the situation? Could it cause more harm than good?

3. (OK I have more.) The possibility of disturbed students getting ahold of gun and using them against other students or teachers.

By: Erica (crummy cupcake)

Erica (crummy cupcake) — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 20:39:54 +0000

Holy crap! I really had no idea! My husband is a high school librarian. It is not an easy job. Sometimes it can be scary. What he and I will never agree to is succumb to that fear and potentially add a deadly weapon into the fray. The act of owning (much less carrying) a gun brings that instrument of harm (not safety) into play in ways we may never know. If someone finds it. If we ever used it. If it was turned against us and used on us. For our family, our only recourse is to not participate.

Thanks for the info. I’m going to ask some more questions at my kids’ school as well as my husband’s. (File this under questions I never knew I would have to ask.) Ug.

By: Kristi

Kristi — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 20:37:07 +0000

I just wanted to add a scenario after reading through every one’s comments. If there is a another student or person who thinks they want to harm someone in retaliation and know they can find a gun AT school IN the classroom - who’s to say they would not find the means to get the gun from the teacher (stealing or wrestling the teacher for it) just to carry out their plan?! People try often to get a police officer’s gun and they are trained to not let it get to that…will we then have to train our teacher’s in self-defense, martial arts, or some other form of fending off an estranged mad man? Seems the cycle may never end and never offer a reasonable and responsible safe solution.

By: Kristi

Kristi — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 20:31:10 +0000

From a girl whose father was in law enforcement for 30 years we had guns on our home. I never played with it or was ever interested in them. My brother and I both knew they were in the house. My parents were very good at teaching us about them, showing them to us (just for curiosity sake), and even taking us target shooting several times. We knew they were dangerous and we knew they were in our home. My parents never kept them from us and so we paid little attention to them being there. My dad said something interesting a few months back when he retired we all were asking for cops stories. OF course a few asked if he had ever shot someone. In THIRTY years of work HE NEVER SHOT SOMEONE! He gave the reason that his actions were always from the head, not from the hand. I thought that to be significant. Criminals seem to be getting more brazen, more ballsy and less respectful of our law enforcement, laws, and citizens. EDUCATION is key here. It is key in everything. Guns are never a solution, in or out of school. It starts at home, most definitely, but we also need to flood ourselves with the proper education outside the home, too. Firearms in school will not help the value of education nor the protection of our children. With that being said I am not sure what the right solution is either. I am glad you are taking a positive action and standing up for our children’s learning experience. I am eager to follow your efforts and quick to offer a hand in helping. Good luck in this fight - I got your back girl!

By: JmeL

JmeL — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 23:17:00 +0000

Amen, sistah!