At about this time last year, I wrote about HB 1890 (that post is here). That PA House bill did not see the light of day, thankfully. The essence of the bill was this: that it would be a good idea to give Pennsylvania school boards the authority to develop policies allowing employees in schools, including teachers, to carry firearms on school property. The idea being that it is a better idea - that it is safer for children - for teachers to confront active shooters in their schools than it is for them to seek shelter for the children in their classes while law enforcement works to end violent situations as a result of scenarios such as these.
This proposal is back in the form of Senate Bill 383 (here) sponsored by Sen. Donald White (more about him here). This bill remains a bad idea for all the reasons I posited in March of 2016. The LNP Editorial Board agrees (see here). Penn Manor School District Superintendent Mike Leichliter also agrees, and Mike is one of the smartest people I know.
If you live in Pennsylvania and are having trouble grasping the image of a teacher pulling a handgun out of her holster to fend off an active shooter while surrounded by the students in her class, if you can't picture that, well, you aren't alone. Let your member of the PA State Senate know that the idea of teachers carrying weapons in schools is not the way to keep children safer.
Until next time...
In advocating arming teachers, NRA vice president Wayne LaPierre stated, “The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun” (Lichtblau & Rich, 2012, 1). Our analysis of recent teacher shootings, however, indicates the problems with assigning these labels and relying on such a simplistic dichotomy. The potential for both accidental and intentional shootings in which teachers can cause lethal damage to innocent actors is apparent. Interesting article. http://homicidecenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Teachers-with-Guns-RESEARCH-REPORT-FINAL.pdf
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