Trump: Guns for teachers will end school shootings

[SingingAnalyst]

Third-grader pulls trigger on Maplewood cop’s gun, firing a shot

That was with a trained police officer. Thankfully no one was hurt.

Forcing teachers to have yet another job piled on their shoulders, where they may have to use deadly force, is disgusting and wrong.

^^^ As a teacher, I couldn't agree more.

In retrospect, it now appears that one or more trained police officers failed to act in Parkland last week. Having trained police or security officers close at hand (not necessarily on school grounds at all times) would seem to be the best, at this time, of a rather bad lot of solutions.

I already have to balance teaching, classroom management, lesson planning, grading, continuing my education as required by the State and my accrediting agency, and overall work-life balance.

Would public funds pay for firearm training for teachers? Would teachers be required to partake? So many other questions about whether to keep it loaded, what about teachers who "snap", and what I might tactfully call the "racial angle": Black teachers who carry put themselves at added risk (remember Philandro Castle) and Black students may be at greater risk of being shot by an errant teacher.

A bad idea, on so many levels. We need to stop grasping at straws.

[SingingAnalyst]

Yes --

1. Make the legal age for buying guns and ammo  21.

2. Put more funding into mental health.

3. Ban people who have issues of mental health, drug or alcohol use, or spouse/child abuse from buying guns or ammo. 

I would add

Prohibit people banned from buying guns and ammo in their state from  buying guns and ammo in another state.

Bad ideas:

1. Arming teachers or school administrators.

2. Armed guards at schools. That fosters a gun culture.

I would add requiring would-be gun owners to pass a safety class (just as we do for driver's ed-- we could require something akin to a road test and a written test). This would certainly cut down on both deliberate and accidental shootings, not just the more sensational mass shootings.