President Trump suggested that arming teachers would be an effective method of preventing future school shootings while sitting down for a listening session on school shootings at the White House on Wednesday.
“If you had a teacher who was adept at firearms, they could very well end the attack very quickly, and the good thing about a suggestion like that — and we’re going to be looking at it very strongly, and I think a lot of people are going to be opposed to it. I think a lot of people are going to like it. But the good thing is you’re going to have a lot of [armed] people with that,” said the President.
President Trump on concealed carry for teachers: "If you had a teacher who was adept at firearms, they could very well end the attack very quickly." pic.twitter.com/SnKjyYH0uw
— Josh Caplan (@joshdcaplan) February 21, 2018
Trump said that athletic director at Stoneman Douglas High School, Chris Hixon, had “saved a lot of lives,” however if he had been armed, he could have saved more.
“He wouldn’t have had to run, he would have shot, and that would have been the end of it,” he said, adding that he only supported concealed carry for people “adept” with guns.
Trump also knocked gun-free zones around schools.
“A gun-free zone to a maniac, because they’re all cowards, a gun-free zone is ‘let’s go in and attack,'” he said. “I really believe if these cowards knew that the school was well-guarded from the standpoint of pretty much having professionals with great training, I think they wouldn’t go into the schools to start with, it would pretty much solve your problem.”
Trump then turned to the attendees for their thoughts, asking “So does anybody like that idea here, does anybody like it? … Do people feel strongly against it, anybody? Anybody? Strongly against it? We can understand both sides. Certainly, it’s controversial, but we’ll study that along with many other ideas.”
Several attendees voiced their displeasure with the notion.
“Nobody wants to see a shoot-out in school,” said Mark Barden, whose son was killed in the December 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. “And a deranged sociopath on his way to commit an act of murder in a school with the outcome, knowing the outcome is going to be suicide, is not going to care if there is somebody there with a gun,” he continued.
“Schoolteachers have more than enough responsibilities right now than to have to have the awesome responsibility of lethal force to take a life.”
Not all schoolteachers
After Butler County, Ohio Sheriff Richard K. Jones offered free concealed carry training to 50 teachers following the shooting, 250 teachers responded as reported by Fox 91 news. “We have 250 and growing fast. We will start training fast, next week.”
Jones stressed that he wants teachers to understand how to handle an active shooter situation, should they be allowed to carry firearms on campus.
The whole idea is to PREVENT a shootout. Guaranteeing there would be no armed resistance INVITES the shooters. So, that will reduce the frequency.
In the unlikely event a shooter enters the school, with more than simply an armed guard that could be surprised and taken out, numerous teachers trained and armed, if failing at deterrence, would be an effective defense and save lives.
Whatever the solution to the problem is, a defense against the symptoms cannot be argued against.
Yeah, like worrying what pronoun to use when addressing a student. Again, being armed and ready is a deterrence… an effective deterrence.
And special training to keep from having the weapon taken away from them.
In the end, no matter what Trump says or does the left will not be satisfied, though they were satisfied with far less from Obama. So, Trump should not do anything but what would address the actual problem and encouraging concealed carry in schools is a huge step in that direction.
Being armed is not bad. But it is of no use if you are a coward. See * law enforcement armed but hid at school.
Maybe if all are armed there will be 1 with the guts to fight. With luck many and we get the killer is a cross fire!
As has been said millions of times the last 60 years – “Weapons do not kill! People kill!”!
The killer killed many because a law enforcement officer WITH A GUN did not kill him! The c*** s****** coward’s gun did not harm anyone!
Guns do not kill! People kill!
Last night the news found two school officials that had an unreasonable fear of being guarded. but couldnt find any or didn’t look for an alternative view. The teacher thought guns in school would send the wrong message, maybe guns are not only to kill but protect..ooo shudder. The kiddies should not even see a gun, is there a dictionary for the teacher to look up the word concealed? Someone tell her she would not be forced to be one of the armed.
@an ol exJarhead: Making the decision to rush into gunfire is a lot different than having the gunfire coming to you and having the capability to react. Peterson had the option to remain in safety while a teacher inside had his/her options removed. The cowardly reaction of Peterson in no way affects the value of having adults inside that can defend the students.
Bill
NO it does! It shows precisely why we should have armed teachers. If all are armed, possibly one will do what I did many times 50 – 51 years ago – run at the attacker! Had that been done at the start we may have another 15 still alive!
@an ol exJarhead: I wonder why the resources officer was outside to begin with… was he inside and went outside when the shooting started?
The problem,IMHO, starts with the outspoken RESISTANCE leader who hires and fires the deputies – Scott Israel! He is the cause of the problem! He hired the C S deputies!
A school teacher, having no extensive tactical training or skills, armed with handgun, will be expected to take on and overcome a determined shooter armed with a military style weapon in a crowded school environment?
There are over 26,000 public secondary schools in America. How many teachers would be armed by such a policy?
What’s the likelihood that tragic misunderstandings, miscalculations, or accidents would occur, vs. the likelihood that homicidal shooters with far greater firepower and total disregard for the lives of innocent people would be stopped?
@Greg: Oh poor baby in your imagining a woman with a greying tight bun hairdo whipping out a Glock from her support hose, only to blast through her 20 kinderkids before meeting her own bloody demise. Best go back and listen to the Presidents actual words without the brain fogging of MSLSDs interpretation.
Why couldn’t CNN find any of these 250 for the townhall joke?
@Greg:
CHL holders do it all the time. Of course, armed teachers will probably be a deterrent to any shootings in the schools in the first place.
Yet again, a liberal opposes positive action and proposes doing nothing except to address a non-problem. Since 2009, 92% of mass shootings have occurred in gun-free zones. Since Biden’s law designating “gun free zones”, most of the shootings have occurred in them. I wonder, when will the left wake up and, if they don’t care, allow others to address the REAL problems?
Numerous schools in Texas are way ahead of the curve on this. Like the liberal predictions of the results of CHL itself, the predictions of disaster have been totally wrong. But, we know what happens when they AREN’T armed, don’t we? Is that your preference?
In 2014, 22 kids were seriously wounded in a knife attack in a Pennsylvania school. I wonder why there was no news coverage, no town halls, not teary-eyed Obama pleading for serious knife control after that? Because it doesn’t progress gun control, that’s why. It’s not about safety; it’s about gun control.