It is NOT an non-Sequitur as a basic drivers license is not enough to be a School Bus driver. So it's kinda silly to expect the bare minimum from our teachers when we expect more than the minimum from our school bus drivers.
A standard drivers license is NOT enough to get a job as a bus driver. So why is a basic, bare minimum license enough for someone who bought a gun on Monday, got their license on Tuesday and starts carrying it to school on Wednesday considered OK?
Yes, it is non-sequitur because a 16-year-old cannot legally carry a handgun at all, be it in a school or otherwise. But, for the sake of argument, let's look at exactly what is required to drive a school bus. In my home state of Indiana, the requirements to drive a school bus are as follows:
Sec. 1. (a) An individual may not drive a school bus for the transportation of students or be employed as a school bus monitor unless the individual satisfies the following requirements:
(1) Is of good moral character.
(2) Does not use intoxicating liquor during school hours.
(3) Does not use intoxicating liquor to excess at any time.
(4) Is not addicted to any narcotic drug.
(5) Is at least:
(A) twenty-one (21) years of age for driving a school bus; or
(B) eighteen (18) years of age for employment as a school bus monitor.
(6) In the case of a school bus driver, holds a valid public passenger chauffeur's license or commercial driver's license issued by the state or any other state.
(7) Possesses the following required physical characteristics:
(A) Sufficient physical ability to be a school bus driver, as determined by the committee.
(B) The full normal use of both hands, both arms, both feet, both legs, both eyes, and both ears.
(C) Freedom from any communicable disease that:
(i) may be transmitted through airborne or droplet means; or
(ii) requires isolation of the infected person under 410 IAC 1-2.3.
(D) Freedom from any mental, nervous, organic, or functional disease that might impair the person's ability to properly operate a school bus.
(E) Visual acuity, with or without glasses, of at least 20/40 in each eye and a field of vision with one hundred fifty (150) degree minimum and with depth perception of at least eighty percent (80%).
(b) This subsection applies to a school bus monitor. Notwithstanding subsection (a)(5)(B), a school corporation or school bus driver may not employ an individual who is less than twenty-one (21) years of age as a school bus monitor unless the school corporation or school bus driver does not receive a sufficient number of qualified applicants for employment as a school bus monitor who are at least twenty-one (21) years of age. A school corporation or school bus driver shall maintain a record of applicants, their ages, and their qualifications to show compliance with this subsection.
http://www.in.gov/legislative/ic/2010/title20/ar27/ch8.html
The requirements for obtaining a public passenger chauffeur's license are as follows:
Public passenger chaufeur’s licenses may be issued to Indiana residents who
are at least 18 years old and have held a valid driver’s license for at least two years.
You may apply for a public passenger chaufeur’s license at any Indiana
license branch. To obtain a public passenger chaufeur’s license you must meet
the following requirements:
Submit an original Medical Certiication - State Form 3337, completed
by a licensed physician no more than 30 days before applying for your
public passenger chaufeur’s license.
Present your driver’s license; and
Present documents described in Appendix A proving your identity,
Social Security number, lawful status, and Indiana residency; and
Pass a standard vision screening test; and
Pass a public passenger chaufeur’s written knowledge test.
http://www.in.gov/bmv/files/Drivers_Manual_Chapter_1.pdf
Is that really all that much more stringent than the requirements to obtain a CCL in most states? A minimum age of 21, classes, written tests, skills tests, and background checks are all pretty common, so it seems to me that the requirements to be a school bus driver aren't all that much more stringent than those to carry a handgun in most places.
Also, part of the reason that the requirements for a public passenger chauffeur's license are more stringent than those of a standard driver's license is that the types of vehicles that can be operated with a chauffeur's license are different than those allowed by a standard driver's license and thus may not operate the same way. A handgun, however, works the exactly the same whether it's used in a shopping mall or school.
Finally, a person who only meets the "state minimum" can still drive a school bus. For all I know, a bus driver in Indiana may have never driven anything but his own passenger car before because the "state minimum" for eligibility to drive a school bus does not include experience or a skills test of any sort.
All that being said, you're still not answering the question I've been asking you for over two pages: Why does one need special qualifications to carry in a school, but nowhere else? You say that you don't want people who only meet the "state minimum" around children in schools, but why is it OK for people who only meet the "state minimum" to be around children (or anyone for that matter) elsewhere?
