Don’t Mess With Texas Teachers: Concealed Weapons On Campus
August 20, 2008 by Libby 
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School teachers in Harold County, Texas can bring concealed weapons to school. Brilliant. According to Harrold County school superintenedent:
“If something were to happen here, I’d much rather be calling a parent to tell them that their child is OK because we were able to protect them…When the federal government started making schools gun-free zones, that’s when all of these shootings started. Why would you put it out there that a group of people can’t defend themselves? That’s like saying ’sic ‘em’ to a dog,”
Not surprisingly The Republican Gov. of Texas, Rick Perry, said that he supported the policy as long as teachers and staff are adequately trained in gun safety. In a nod to Tocqueville and in line with general state’s rights rhetoric the Gov. added that he had no problem with other school districts adopting such gun policies, “I think it’s up to those local school districts,” he said.
God forbid throwing more money at school districts to teach kids conflict resolution skills! Like there is even time for that sort of nurturing and life skills education when you have get those teenage mongrels to meet crucial No Child Left Behind standards.
Afraid of another VA Tech incident at your school?
Click here to join the Students for Concealed Carry on Campus group on Facebook! Yee-ha! Or email GW’s campus representative Andrew Breza (Breza@gwu.edu)
Well shee-it, this is the first reason I have seen that would sway me to move to Texas.
August 20, 2008 at 3:06 pmIronic - a regular gun would have stopped the Columbine kids and the Virginia Tech kid cold in their tracks.
As I recall, one did, too, eventually.
Gun free zones = Shoot at me, I’m defenseless zones.
And as has been shown, they’re only gun-free as long as people follow the statute.
August 20, 2008 at 3:09 pmHow typically American. Instead of examining the root causes of gun violence, they’ve decided to dangerous and stupid solution!
That being said, I’m sure there’ll be a lot more discipline in schools where teachers are allowed to carry heat. After all, can you imagine getting pistol whipped or blasted in the arm for not doing your homework????
August 20, 2008 at 3:15 pmPatrick, please explain how it is dangerous and stupid.
What the fuck good does “examining the root causes of gun violence” do when some batshit crazy asshole pissed off because he got an A- on a paper comes in brandishing a weapon and starts shooting people?
It gets you dead.
What does having someone who is trained in the handling of a handgun present when said batshit crazy asshole comes in and starts shooting people? It gets you a lot closer to having that guy dead and more innocent people alive.
August 20, 2008 at 3:21 pm
Give the gift of Texas. The gift that keeps on giftin’.
true dat
August 20, 2008 at 3:26 pm“examining the root causes of gun violence” means there’s a deep societal problem we need to be looking into when people feel that shooting people is an acceptable way to vent. I think that’s what the fuck that means.
‘But what do we do in the meantime? Sing kumbayah around some shite campfire?’ you may ask. ANd I ‘d say, ‘you know what? I don’t know’. But what I do know is second ammendment rights are alot more important to the gun lobby and arms industry than they are to the average american citizen.
August 20, 2008 at 3:30 pmSF - it isn’t an acceptable way to vent, that’s why almost 300 million of us don’t do it. The people who do it are either batshit crazy (in which case examining the root causes of violence isn’t going to do anything to affect them, anymore than showing people that there are dinosaur bones is going to convince Jesus freaks that the earth is more than 3,000 years old) or they are thug-ass bitches, in which case they don’t give a fuck what you think.
On your second point, you’re wrong. Gun ownership in the US is at about half of all households, fully within the realm of “average american citizen.”
August 20, 2008 at 3:36 pmI’ll bet those are NRA stats.
The problem I have w/ guns in america — and mind you, I very very much enjoy shooting handguns, rifles, zips, canons off a sailing ship, you name it — is mainly with americans. we just ain’t right. I just don’t trust us for the most part.
August 20, 2008 at 4:00 pmThere’s the rub, SF. I don’t trust most people either. I don’t trust them not to try to rob me at an ATM, steal one of my motorcycles, jack my truck, break into my house, or start shooting up some restaraunt or bar where I am. And since I don’t trust them, I sure as hell don’t want to be one of those who cower under a table or play dead and hope I can pull off the possum routine to their satisfaction.
The incidents of regular joes with registered guns committing crimes with them is a paltry figure. The incidents of criminals obtaining guns illegally and commiting crimes with them is an astounding figure. Criminals will get guns, just as they get drugs - a ban doesn’t stop shit and never has. And I’m not one of those types who sits around waiting for some higher-authority to protect me or save my ass. The police are under no obligation to protect individual citizens - I forget the Supreme Court case but you can look it up. And as I said before, people don’t see “gun (or drug) free” zones and suddenly drop their criminal intent.
August 20, 2008 at 4:08 pmIf you own a gun, the chances of that ownership resulting in an accidental death or unjustified homicide are far greater than it being used to save a life.
I do not include the likelihood that suicide results from gun ownership in my argument because, deprived of guns, people still find a way to kill themselves. That being said, I have never heard of a single suicide by taser gun.
So, due to the high chance that kids or teachers packing heat on campus will simply lead to accidental shootings or homicides not justified by a self-defense rationale, I recommend that, if people need to be armed on campus, it is with something nonlethal.
By the way, the only people that don’t want taser guns floating around in the general population are cops because taser guns defeat the efficacy of bullet-proof vests. In short, they knock police down whether they are wearing a bullet-proof vest or not, and once down they become easy targets for would-be cop killers.
But isn’t the goal of any public safety policy to primarily protect the public, rather than to protect the police? So, taser guns, if we must. Taser guns.
August 20, 2008 at 4:09 pmIronic - re your first point: same with a car.
August 20, 2008 at 4:11 pmagreed.
i don’t trust letting the average american carry a concealed weapon… we’re just too easily offended. if everyone had a gun you would have the occasional hero story where the gun saves the day, but more often than not you would have the “accidental” shooting story all over the place. i’m all for rationally thinking, level-headed people owning guns - but lets face it, the average american isn’t rational or level-headed.
How many of you have ever had a weapon pointed at you? Gun, knife, or other.
Shit is scary, right?
August 20, 2008 at 4:18 pmDude. don’t even get me started on cars. 9 out of 10 drivers these days need to be taken off the road. I’m all for car cams at every light.
August 20, 2008 at 4:19 pmGraham - dumb argument. There are over 200 million registered guns and about 150 million gun owners in this country. If we’re so damned easily offended then there’d be hundreds of deaths a day because we can’t control ourselves.
The vast majority of us can, however.
And for those who can’t, I much prefer someone being around who can pop their melon like a cherry tomato.
All this aside, I strongly advocate training before gun ownership - even something as simplisticly stupid akin to our computer drivers test would be a good start. Being able to take the gun completely apart, put it back together, cite the muzzel velocity, name off the type and weight rounds it takes, how far they travel, etc etc should be mandatory for each type of weapon you purchase. But then again I think being able to change a fucking tire should be mandatory before being licensed and you shouldn’t be able to buy a Hyundai Sonata and be qualified to drive an Excursion.
And, yes, I’m for waiting periods as well.
August 20, 2008 at 4:22 pmPatrick - a lot of shit is scary. Yes I’ve had both pointed at me. I was even stabbed with a knife by some douche, er, asswipe, in Adams Morgan trying to rob me after I refused to buy his baggie of coke. Of course the stabbing was in the shoulder and missed my chest because I clocked his ass when he came in for the jab, but you can bet your ass I wish I’d had a concealed carry permit because I would have reached for my wallet and pulled out a nice 1911.
States that have concealed carry permits have very few incidents of muggings. Criminals don’t take stupid chances, they rob with abandon in DC because they know handguns are banned and the chances that you’re a Ninja are about 0.
August 20, 2008 at 4:26 pmMichael, don’t try to throw a straw man argument on me. My argument is that guns are bad, not because, (like cars) they sometimes result in accidental death or unjustified homicide, but that they are more likes to result in something of that nature than they are to result in taking out “bad guys.”
In short, the risk-reward matrix simply does not add up for guns, especially when there are such viable alternatives as taser guns. Oh, and a host of other alternatives should also be considered, such as mental health intervention for troubled students.
Cars are much more likely to do their intended jobs of getting us from Point A to Point B than they are to result in an accidental death or vehicular manslaughter. Thus, the risk-reward analysis is somewhat in their favor.
But even if you can make the case that guns are just as bad for the public as guns (due to pollution, accidents, etc.), then that is an argument AGAINST cars, not FOR guns. Two wrongs do not make a right.
August 20, 2008 at 4:34 pmDe je vous? (i know i spelled that wrong)
http://www.brightestyoungthings.com/i-heart-dc/annie-get-your-gun/
August 20, 2008 at 4:56 pmGuns aren’t bad. People are bad. Look at the upsweep in knife violence in the UK after the gun ban. Taking guns away from responsible citizens results in more responsible citizens being victimized by those who would pay about as much attention to a gun ban as they do on, oh, fuck, what am I looking for here….
a drug ban maybe?
August 20, 2008 at 5:32 pmside note:
i love hearing about hunting accidents.
one less hunter in the world = one less jackass.
Graham - nice sweeping bullshit generalization. Half the people in my country growing up subsidized their grocery shopping by deer hunting. For the price of a bullet they could feed their family for weeks. I would think that there’s a few million people in this country that do the same. Guess they should have just gone on food stamps instead and gotten some hormone-laden bovine raised on pesticide-laden cornmeal in a tiny concrete floored cage that was killed by some dude with a pressurized bolt then hung upside down and had its throat slit while still alive, right?
You’re a real dum-dum you know? I mean as in not smart.
Now trophy hunters? I agree.
August 20, 2008 at 6:04 pmreally hit a nerve there didn’t i?
sorry if i insulted your family and friends with my hunting comment… i have nothing wrong with people that hunt to survive. i should have clarified with trophy hunting accidents instead of just hunting accidents.
you really live to talk shit and get upset don’t you? maybe it was all that hunting you and pappy had to do to survive when you were growing up that left you so bitter.
August 20, 2008 at 6:33 pmgraham, you need to shut the fuck up. trying to offend michael won’t get your point across any better than shoving a bike up your ass.
apologizing and then insulting again, way to be!
August 20, 2008 at 6:39 pmI said half the county, I never counted myself amongst that half.
Reading comprehension - it’s what’s for dinner.
August 20, 2008 at 7:07 pmfrom the ben’s chili bowl interview with nizam ali:
“When you think back over your Ben’s experience, growing up with that as the family business, you must have tons of stories. What’s one of your favorites?
That’s a good question, but I think my favorite thing is finding out stuff I never knew about this place. Like finding out that Martin Luther King ate here, or being told by someone that they ran into a celebrity here, like Donny Hathaway,
The stories that my parents tell me are important. You know during the riots I believe we were the only business to stay open after curfew. The restaurant got passes for the employees to come and go. But after it closed my dad would write ‘Soul Brother’ on the window and sit in the first booth with a gun protecting this place. My mother still remembers the smell of tear gas on U Street.”
is it right to deny business owners their 2nd amendment right? teachers?
the criminals are getting guns no matter what the law states. period. when people are allowed to go through a legal process and own a gun, crime does not run the risk of going up since, as i said, criminals are getting guns without going through that process.
i hear what ironic is saying about how if nobody had a gun, then there wouldn’t be any gun deaths. that’s true. but people DO have them. the wrong people.
tazing a person who is so fucked up in the head that they are willing to *kill* someone might stop them once. ONCE. (i feel like danny vermin all of a sudden)
August 21, 2008 at 11:09 am
Let ‘em all carry concealed concealed Taser guns (don’t need to be super close to target and extremely low chance of killing anybody).
No harm in that, and taser guns would have stopped the Columbine kids and that Virginia Tech kid cold in their tracks.
Regular guns are whack like crack.
August 20, 2008 at 3:05 pm