I am a member of the AFT (American Federation Of Teachers) in Pennsylvania.
I teach adults.
Recently we got a security summary from the union citing deficiencies in security at the school.
One of the items was that a teacher had seen a student with a gun in his briefcase and when the student was confronted said that he was allowed to carry as he had a ccw.
They went on to state that 13% of the student surveyed reported bringing a gun to school.
There was a call for metal detectors and signs prohibiting guns.
I wrote back and said that I thought that we should encourage those with permits to carry as I would rather have a class of armed citizens rather than a class of dead victims should a terrorist or nut job attack my class room.
I got a nasty reply back saying that my email was "bizarre and could not go unchallenged". An incident where a student who had a permit "murdered" someone and then asked a teacher for a character reference in the trial was offered as proof that students were not mature enough to carry guns (these are licenced adults - over 21 we are talking about). I was further told that anyone who felt they needed to carry a gun to school should not be attending school.
I was asked if I carried a gun.
I wrote back that I found the position of the AFT bizarre and wondered what rock they had been hiding under to not know that in PA 1 out of 20 adults has a carry permit. I also stated that the only place that is illegal to carry in PA is a court house and that the school had no legal right to deny a permit holder his right to carry.
I said that I carry a gun, my wife carries a gun and my daughter carries a gun, but that I do not carry on school grounds because it is against school regulations (I will not go into whether or not that is a true statement) but that I did not feel that that regulation had any legal weight.
I also pointed out that their own statistic 13% carry yet there has never been a single incident in or around the school should tell them that permit holders are not just blasting up class rooms.
I got a one word response "MISINTERPRETATION!". Master debaters, eh?
I am tenured so I am in no fear of losing my job over this issue.
What do you think?
I teach adults.
Recently we got a security summary from the union citing deficiencies in security at the school.
One of the items was that a teacher had seen a student with a gun in his briefcase and when the student was confronted said that he was allowed to carry as he had a ccw.
They went on to state that 13% of the student surveyed reported bringing a gun to school.
There was a call for metal detectors and signs prohibiting guns.
I wrote back and said that I thought that we should encourage those with permits to carry as I would rather have a class of armed citizens rather than a class of dead victims should a terrorist or nut job attack my class room.
I got a nasty reply back saying that my email was "bizarre and could not go unchallenged". An incident where a student who had a permit "murdered" someone and then asked a teacher for a character reference in the trial was offered as proof that students were not mature enough to carry guns (these are licenced adults - over 21 we are talking about). I was further told that anyone who felt they needed to carry a gun to school should not be attending school.
I was asked if I carried a gun.
I wrote back that I found the position of the AFT bizarre and wondered what rock they had been hiding under to not know that in PA 1 out of 20 adults has a carry permit. I also stated that the only place that is illegal to carry in PA is a court house and that the school had no legal right to deny a permit holder his right to carry.
I said that I carry a gun, my wife carries a gun and my daughter carries a gun, but that I do not carry on school grounds because it is against school regulations (I will not go into whether or not that is a true statement) but that I did not feel that that regulation had any legal weight.
I also pointed out that their own statistic 13% carry yet there has never been a single incident in or around the school should tell them that permit holders are not just blasting up class rooms.
I got a one word response "MISINTERPRETATION!". Master debaters, eh?
I am tenured so I am in no fear of losing my job over this issue.
What do you think?