Folkbum Just Doesn't Like Guns in School

Jay over at Folkbum doesn't like Lasee's idea, which comes as no surprise. My prediction was that Lasee would be roundly criticized and dismissed as some sort of wacko--and that was an easy prediction to make.

But Jay's objection(s) to the concept make his teacher-colleagues look like a bunch of blithering idiots. I suppose that's one way to win an argument: concede that 'your side' is incapable and/or untrustworthy. But it's....unusual.

Also, I know the frequency with which things turn up stolen at school. Well, you might say, we'll only give the responsible teachers guns. Horse pucky. Believe me, there are many people who think they're responsible--or are labeled as such by their supervisors--who simply are not. Again, maybe I'm generalizing based on what I know from working so long in such a messed-up district. But even the teachers I think are responsible have things turn up missing--sometimes as small as bus tickets, sometimes as large as stereos or DVD players. Safety aides and administrators regularly have their walkie-talkies or other personal effects stolen during melees. I once had a smooth student swipe my clip-on ID right off my clothes. And if you think the lawsuits are a potential problem now, just wait until the first time a group of kids surprises an armed teacher, knocks him or her down, and steals the gun to do whatever it is they might otherwise have done with just fists.

I will admit that the last sentence/objection above is something of a concern--but then, curiously, Jay more-or-less contradicts himself with the next 'graf:

And, among the best reasons against the proposal is one I heard expressed by my union president Dennis Oulihan on the radio this morning ...The schools, he said, are very often the safest places in our students' lives...

If they're so "safe," what's with the "group of...gun-thieves"?

Finally, Jay's objection that the shooters are generally suicides-in-intent is valid. But what Jay chooses NOT to consider is the possibility that a well-trained and armed individual may SAVE some lives.

You know, Jay: "If we can save just one child...."

Lasee's proposal is an option, not a mandate. It may be a part of a more comprehensive solution. And it deserves better discussion than the knee-jerk "OhMyGod!!GUNS!?!?!" from thinking individuals.