I visited with one of the Pueblo Public School District 70 Board of Directors late last week and, in the course of our very general conversation, he indicated that one of the more serious considerations they were dealing with was the wisdom of letting teachers carry firearms in the schools as a matter of student safety. Before we go any further, there are several issues to make plain. To begin with NO ONE has to carry a gun if they don’t want to. In fact, dare I say, please don’t ever touch a gun if you don’t want to. Someone will get hurt and it will probably be the reluctant firearm bearer.
Secondly, the training that is being bantered about goes far beyond the normal concealed carry permit training. It is not simply showing the individual the front end of the gun, the back end of the gun and where to put the bullets. Thirdly, school districts can’t afford the money necessary to have one full-time security person on duty in every school. A friend of mine, who many of you probably know, advocates for a trained law enforcement canine who can not only stop a shooter in his tracks, but detect the smell of guns in school lockers and book bags. I love that idea but, again, the cold, hard reality of life is the cost.
Finally, and to me the most important issue/question, is this, “Do you know a better way to keep our children safe?
Perhaps there is. The idea came from my lovely daughter, who’s four lovely grandchildren go to a school in the Lewis Palmer School District. Did I mention they were our grandchildren? Somehow you may have guessed.
She says the answer is our nation’s heroic veterans of war. The “Wounded Warriors” and retired military who live amongst us with a desire to continue to be of value, and who probably have grandchildren of their own. These heroes have protected us from terrorism abroad, why not our local schools? And is anything more honorable than truly protecting the innocent?
Many of these veterans: ex-military, ex-law enforcement, ex-heroes, have a physical disability which has left them without purpose and meaningful involvement in the field of their expertise.
By the way, Delaware and New Hampshire now allow teachers to carry a gun with NO stipulations. Oregon and Utah require teachers to get a concealed carry permit to have a gun on school premises. Private and/or religious schools can only allow teachers to carry if they have a permit. It was interesting to me that Oregon and Utah tend to be very different, politically, but seem to agree on how to protect their children. A number of states require school permission for a teacher to carry a gun but do not require a concealed carry permit. They are: Alaska, Connecticut, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, Ohio, South Carolina, Vermont, and Wyoming. Peyton, Colorado, a town in our football league this year, allows teachers and other employees to carry concealed handguns on campus. According to the same article in the Colorado Springs Gazette, at least 30 other Colorado School Districts and Charter schools allow teachers to carry guns, but with no statewide training standards.
If someone has the thought to target defenseless adults and children at a school, would they hesitate if you saw an abundance of signs stating this: Caution: This Property Protected by our Wounded Warriors Who is more trained, capable and willing to defend than our Honorably Discharged military veterans?
At the very least it’s worth a serious discussion.