Another State Considers Arming School Staff

by Philip Hodges 


Tennessee is the latest state to consider legislation that will require schools in the state to have an armed staff member at all times, something that until now has been prohibited. Most Tennessee high schools do have “resource officers,” which are essentially armed police officers, but a bill being proposed by State Senator Frank Niceley in the next legislative session would also allow teachers or other members of administrative staffs to carry concealed weapons if the school could not afford a “resource officer.” His bill would require that all schools have at least one armed official on campus. TPM reported that Niceley recommends against using a uniformed officer and favors armed school personnel:

 “‘Say some madman comes in. The first person he would probably try to take out was the resource officer. But if he doesn’t know which teacher has training, then he wouldn’t know which one had [a gun],’ Niceley said by phone. ‘These guys are obviously cowards anyway and if someone starts shooting back, they’re going to take cover, maybe go ahead and commit suicide like most of them have.’”

Liberals claim that there’s an inconsistency in conservatives’ thinking about arming school teachers. They point out that conservatives are so critical of public schools, calling them “indoctrination camps,” yet all of a sudden we’re in favor of giving them guns. Maybe they have a point. Why would we be in favor of giving guns to people who we claim brainwash our kids? There are a few ways to respond. Maybe they’re right. Then the answer would be to outlaw public schools. They’ve proven themselves to be dangerous places. After all, how many home-schooled kids have been murdered in these recent massacres? Not many. If all these kids were home-schooled, they might still be alive today.

Besides, there is no Constitutional provision allowing governments to take money through taxes to be used to finance “education.” Education is the parents’ responsibility, not the taxpayers’ responsibility.
Of course, liberals would respond that the Connecticut murderer was home-schooled and try to make an association between those “weird, socially inept” home-schooled kids and mass murderers. As if murderers have never been the product of government education. Mass murderers’ education background never mattered to the media until they found one that they claim was home-schooled. Then suddenly it makes all the difference in the world.

On the other hand, carrying a gun is a Constitutional and God-given right. The fact that public schools are government property should make no difference whether or not law-abiding citizens should be able to carry a gun. Liberals have as much right to keep and bear arms as conservatives do. As has been shown, even some liberals in favor of strict gun control (inconsistently) carry a gun. It’s a means of self-defense. Why would anyone not want to be able to at least match what criminals use to kill people?
Also, especially in the South, there’s bound to be at least one conservative on staff at public schools. Let the conservatives carry if the liberals are too afraid.