Teachers are not solders. They are trained to teach, not kill. Putting a gun in the hands of someone who doesn't know what there're doing is a disaster waiting to happen.
While it's true that few teachers would be comfortable carrying concealed firearms and by no means should they be required to. But there are some teachers who are experienced shooters and would have no problem wearing a gun. And an armed, well-trained teacher or two would make a big difference if an armed psycho invaded their school.
The chance of a teacher being in a life and death situation with an armed gunman in the classroom is about 1 in 10 million. What do you think the chances are that this teacher who has worked for years in the classroom and never faced this situation will make the right split second decision?
:You're quite right about the odds. But I believe one of the reasons schools appeal to mass shooters is the current awareness that there are no armed personnel to be concerned with. This aversion to guns is a virtual invitation to them.
Although you make a good point, I really don't think arming teachers is a good idea. I would never trust a non-police/military trained person to be carrying guns around a school my kids attend. Simply have police officers present in the schools, it's what our taxes pay for.
18 states have given teachers permission to carry guns at school with little more required than a permission slip, although few teachers are doing so. One reason might be that most of these states, have not given teachers the kind of authority they give police in dealing with violence. The question as to what the teacher's legal position might be if he misinterprets the situation and kills an innocent student, or draws his weapon to prevent what he believes might be a violent act and causes the violence he's trying to prevent, or a student uses his weapon against other students etc.... A policeman's use of his weapon is well defined but not so with teachers.
I think in the long run, the only teachers that will carry guns are those in schools in high crime areas where the teacher is in fear for himself and his students, certainly not in schools like Sandy Hook or Columbine.
