Rand Paul, Senator from Kentucky, has joined the chorus of Republicans calling for teachers and principals to carry concealed weapons in their classroom. Originally, the NRA came up with this solution following the Sandy Hook massacre of 20 first graders and a number of their teachers last month. Among the politicians who have advocated this policy are Bob McDonnell, Governor of Virginia, and Louie Gohmert, Texas Congressman.
Paul advocated this answer Thursday when addressing a group of businessmen in Kentucky. He said, “Is it perfect? No. Would they always get the killer? No. Would an accident sometimes happen in a melee? Maybe.. But nobody [at Sandy Hook Elementary] had any defense, and he just kept shooting until he was tired and he decided to shoot himself.”
I’m pleased to read that so many politicians had such universally positive experiences with their teachers in elementary, middle school, and high school. It’s great to know that none of their teachers had a problem where they might have acted inappropriately when a student misbehaved; if they had a weapon at their disposal, only God knows what they might have done.
I do know, however, that recently a professor who I know continually publicly humiliated a student that he didn’t like in class. When the student finally got angry enough to push him, a fistfight ensued. I had to help break it up. Good fun, to be sure. But, certainly, the case is much different in public schools. There, teachers are the crème de la crème.
My own experience was slightly different from these politicians. In high school, a friend and myself were trying to come up with a solution to Fermat’s Theorem during study hall. The teacher grew upset at the noise we were making, and striped each of us. I only wonder how he may have acted if he had a firearm available.
On the upside, I can imagine how the Halloween costume industry might be revolutionized. Instead of young women going to parties dressed as a naughty nun, they could also attach a pistol to their mandatory garter belt.
January 19th, 2013 at 7:47 am
I recall in the 8th grade one of our lay teachers, a ‘civilian’ in a Catholic school, got so mad at a student that he pushed him so hard against a closet door that the wooden door cracked. In the 6th grade, I recall one of the nuns breaking a thick, one-meter ruler across the back of the same student. He went on to become a college football hero then turned zero after busted for cocaine use.
January 19th, 2013 at 7:50 am
In the 5th grade, one of the priests whom we called ‘The Batman’ because he wore a black cape a lot, threw one of those large erasers, the kind with the wooden side handle, clear across the classroom to wake up one kid. Nailed him right in the head. Luckily he got clipped by the eraser side and not the wood.
January 19th, 2013 at 12:19 pm
Teachers should have guns if they want them. They should be neither required nor banned. Not everyone can handle a firearm, and last thing I want is some of my kids’ scatterbrained teachers leaving it in an unlocked drawer. But I don’t mind the competent ones having one, and I think it maybe should be mandatory for principals (properly trained of course). Just one gun somewhere at a school would be a deterrent.