Thought I'd drop in, drop off this article, and leave again :icon_lol:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080815/ts_nm/texas_guns_dc_2
Fri Aug 15, 3:32 PM ET

HOUSTON (Reuters) - A Texas school district will let teachers bring guns to class this fall, the district's superintendent said on Friday, in what experts said appeared to be a first in the United States.

The board of the small rural Harrold Independent School District unanimously approved the plan and parents have not objected, said the district's superintendent, David Thweatt.

School experts backed Thweatt's claim that Harrold, a system of about 110 students 150 miles northwest of Fort Worth, may be the first to let teachers bring guns to the classroom.

Thweatt said it is a matter of safety.

"We have a lock-down situation, we have cameras, but the question we had to answer is, 'What if somebody gets in? What are we going to do?" he said. "It's just common sense."

Teachers who wish to bring guns will have to be certified to carry a concealed handgun in Texas and get crisis training and permission from school officials, he said.

Recent school shootings in the United States have prompted some calls for school officials to allow students and teachers to carry legally concealed weapons into classrooms.

The U.S. Congress once barred guns at schools nationwide, but the U.S. Supreme Court struck the law down, although state and local communities could adopt their own laws. Texas bars guns at schools without the school's permission.

(Reporting by Jim Forsyth in San Antonio; writing by Bruce Nichols in Houston, editing by Vicki Allen)

I suspect that the chances of a teachers gun winding up in the hands of a student are far higher than the chance of a teacher using their gun for protection.

I suspect that the chances of a teachers gun winding up in the hands of a student are far higher than the chance of a teacher using their gun for protection.
Or else a teacher blows up and shoots a kid, another teacher or perhaps an administrator. I'm betting that happens before a teacher actually has to use his/her gun in self-defense.

Stupid stupid idea.

There have been times where teachers or students have stopped school shootings because they had access to a gun. You just don't hear about these on the national news because a school shooting that was prevented isn't newsworthy; only a shooting that wasn't prevented is newsworthy.

There have been times where teachers or students have stopped school shootings because they had access to a gun. You just don't hear about these on the national news because a school shooting that was prevented isn't newsworthy; only a shooting that wasn't prevented is newsworthy.
I'd be interested in reading the specific circumstances -- can you post some links?

I see lots of potential for scenarios where kids take their teachers gun and go postal with it. It's trivial to take a gun from someone who isn't expecting it.

Not completely prevented, but helped the situation
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeNDMkrkg5g

Not completely prevented, but helped the situation
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeNDMkrkg5g
The guys who intervened in that situation were trained police officers.

What they did would've been considered illegal in many states.

And the law proposed in Texas would require training.

The only reason I can see that teachers need to carry guns would be if their lives were at risk from, mainly, the students. Such as an inner city school.

I knew a small female who taught in inner city schools. She knew karate, so I hope that was adequate protection.

However, teachers without martial arts training, especially females, might wish to carry guns.

Still, guns are not a perfect answer. A assailant who jumps out at you from behind and grabs your arms is going to be difficult to shoot, especially if they know you carry and grab the gun first. In a close quarters situation, a very small gun (.22 strapped to your leg or thigh) or a knife might be better protection. And, of course, no one should know you are armed.

As for what appears to be Texas' reasons for teachers to carry, i.e. a stranger or disgruntled student who seeks to go on a rampage, the occurrence of such is so rare that the solution seems to be much more likely to cause accidental deaths than save lives.

I support properly trained and licensed persons being able to carry. However, as usual with such issues (especially in Texas), it seems that it is being done more for political than practical reasons.