When it comes to arming teachers, I've heard comments from educators and students like the following:
- Half the teachers can't keep track of keys to the supply closet, do you want them accounting for a gun all day?
- Is the type of teacher who is gung ho about carrying a gun someone you want around your kids?
- I worry about any teacher who feels they could open fire on a student they know
- I couldn't live with killing or injuring a student and couldn't come back to work if I had to.
- You want to arm me and train me to use it, but you can't even get us proper books, supplies, and facilities?
- I went to school to educate and help kids, not fire a gun at them.
- How do you make sure guns stay safe and secure?
- How do you ensure that the person in charge of the gun is well trained and will react well under pressure?
- What liability will exist if the teacher does accidentally or intentionally kill someone?
- Is the duty of this person to get kids to safety or eliminate the threat?
- Who will pay for initial training and ongoing training?
- Who will pay for liability and other expenses?
- Who will be responsible for accidents involving the gun or mishandling of the weapon?
- How will law enforcement communicate with these individuals in a time of crisis and make sure that both the officers and the teacher are not mistakenly gunned down by each other in the chaos?
- What happens if this individual loses possession of the gun during the chaos?
Clearly the threats faced by pilots and of arming pilots are far different than they are for teachers. We've put so much effort into identifying threats long before they reach a plane and our airports are such a restricted environment that comparing the threats to pilots to those of teachers is ludicrous. As we've seen today in Dalton, Georgia, arming teachers is an incredibly risk idea. Kentucky's politicians owe our children and the staff of their schools far better than solving a gun problem by adding more guns to the mix. And do we really want to turn our schools into unwelcoming fortresses where everyone is made to feel like a criminal just for walking in the door?
Now excuse me. I'm going to make sure that my daughter isn't taking more than 3.4 ounces of water to school and check to make sure nobody else packed her backpack for her.