SEATTLE NEWS ARCHIVES & FEATURES
Reading, writing, revolvers: Is it time to give teachers guns?
Dec 17, 2012, 1:20 PM | Updated: Dec 18, 2012, 7:44 am
Gun enthusiasts march in a rally in June to protest gun laws, while others march in front of National Rifle Association headquarters on Capitol Hill in Washington in December. The Sandy Hook Elementary shooting has reignited an intense debate about gun rights as people look to prevent future mass shootings. (AP Photo/File)
(AP Photo/File)
In the wake of the tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut, law enforcement officials and civilians alike are speculating about how the 26 deaths could have been prevented.
While some are calling for a renewed discussion about gun control and reinstating the assault weapons ban, some legislators suggest putting guns in the hands of teachers.
“It gives them more proof, to them, that we need more guns,” said Lisa Foster, who is filling in for Dori with Pat Cashman.
Texas Representative Louie Gohmert is among those who have come out vocally in support of arming teachers nationwide.
“Every mass killing of more than three people in recent history has been in a place where guns were prohibited,” said Congressman Gohmert on Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace. “They choose this place, they know no one will be armed.”
In the wake of the shooting the heroic story of Sandy Hook principal Dawn Hochsprung surfaced. She tried to stop the shooter as he entered the building and switched on the school’s PA system to warn students and teachers.
Congressman Gohmert has suggested that, had principal Dawn Hochsprung been armed, many children’s lives could have been saved.
“I wish to God that she had had an M-4 in her office locked up so when she heard gunfire, she pulls it out and she didn’t have to lunge heroically with nothing in her hands, but she takes him out, takes his head off before he can kill those precious kids.”
Some schools in Texas have already adopted the practice of allowing teachers to carry concealed weapons in class.
Crocket Keller is of a similar mind. The outspoken owner of Keller’s Riverside Gun Store in Austin is offering discounts on concealed carry handgun classes to teachers.
On the other hand, said CBS correspondent Bob Fuss, Senator Dianne Feinstein has introduced legislation to reinstate a ban on assault weapons. Fuss says there has also been a shift among some of the nation’s top democratic gun rights activists.
“Harry Reid, the Senate Democratic leader, who has generally been opposed to gun control regulation, indicated that it’s time to put everything on the table and talk about this,” said Fuss. “And Joe Manchin, a Democrat from West Virginia, who’s a member of the NRA and an avid hunter and someone who’s opposed to gun rules also has said now it’s time to take another look and reconsider.”
Most agree that there needs to be a bigger conversation about preventing violence in schools, but the major question remains: do more guns make our country safer?
