Since the Parkland, Florida shooting, the debate about arming teachers has raged hot and heavy with both sides getting entrenched in their particular points of view. Anti-gunners are screaming that guns on campus will make schools even more dangerous (never mind that school’s gun free zones set up students as easy target practice for sickos). Pro-gun people are argue that arming teachers may be the best hope for keeping American children alive.
But this is the first time that I’ve seen this suggestion. Rob Jennings gives us details about this surprising proposal:
Raritan Township Committee member Louis Carl Reiner argued that state lawmakers should approve legislation “making concealed carrying of a firearm mandatory as a condition of employment,” in a five-paragraph letter posted by TAP Into Flemington/Raritan.
“Passing likeminded legislation at the federal level in concert with state would be the best and most effective way to end ‘gun violence’ in America,” Reiner wrote in his letter, referencing the mass shooting at a Parkland, Florida high school.
Reiner has since clarified that he would support legislation requiring new hires to have a carry permit but would not force teachers already on payroll to obtain a permit to continue to teach.
Now, it’s fair to say that it’s incredibly unlikely that Reiner’s proposal will get any traction in a state which recently had six pieces of gun control legislation signed into law. At least not anytime soon. But it’s still good to see that someone in that state has some guts to stir up some controversy for a good purpose.
To be fair, though, with teachers seeming to very often lean more anti-gun than pro-gun, if something like this passed, it might be very difficult for New Jersey to find enough new teachers. So, in the unlikely even that the the legislation were to pass into law, it would likely be overturned quickly so that they could find teachers for the classrooms.
Still, if there were a school in which all of the teachers were trained and armed, that would be where I want my children to attend.
If the faceless individual depicted holding a pistol with his finger on the trigger is actually a teacher, what subject might he be teaching, perhaps UNSAFE GJUN HANDLING? If I were the parent of school age children, singular or plural, I would not want my kids anywhere near this idiot, nor should he be permitted anywhere near school kids.
He is probably from the news company some guy that knows nothing about firearms.
You really ought to take pictures of people who are knowledgeable about what ever the subject is!
Anyone with just the fundamentals of safe Gun handling knows that the trigger finger goes to the trigger ONLY when the sights are on target!
WE/they have a lot of training to do, in order, to make these people “informed gun handlers”.
It’s the message that counts. Don’t obsess over the details.
That is true, but if you notice, the weapon is a 1911 and the hammer is down. Not much chance of an unintended discharge. It’s just a picture.
Really true fact but these idiots think they know everything about guns when they know absolutely nothing that’s why their anti-gun because their senseless of using one FIGHT 4 2nd AMENMENT!! HOORAH
All teachers? Not some of the teachers I’ve had! And definitely not the character in the photograph with his finger on the trigger. Only teachers who are capable (experienced with firearms) and who willingly volunteer.
Alan and John are absolutely correct!
The photographer and the subject are either ignorant of the basics of firearm safety, or are trying to demonize the private ownership of firearms.
We need more people than teachers to wisely use a firearm safely and to know when to shoot or not. Best left to professionals. I do not favor teachers as protection. There are some exceptions in the western US due to fire arms handling but they are exceptions because they are likely already fire arms educated and also better shots.
How about we ask the ones in the shooting gallery if they want to be armed, I prefer an approach that allows those who want to carry, with proper training, to do so. After all, they are the ones, who at this point, have few options, none of them good, when things go bad. We all have the right to defend our lives, but not the obligation to do so. We all have the right to kneel and beg for our lives, but not the obligation to do so, NO ONE has the right to demand that others must kneel and beg beside those who make that choice and this is just what you have when others are making these decisions. Let teachers and administrators make the decision, some states have been doing it for years with no problems, when you consider the fact that over 90% of ALL mass shootings occur in so called “gun free zones,” AKA shooting galleries, it is obvious that what we have now is not working. Obviously not ALL teachers and administrators will choose to do so, but for those willing to take the extra training, allow them to do so and pay them accordingly. Of interest to all, this program, I believe started in Ohio and is now being utilized in some parts of Colorado, possibly other states as well and it is gaining popularity.
https://i2i.org/faster-training/
johnw1120 YOU are spot on, when I was in school back in the 50’s and 60’s here in Oregon we quite often went hunting after school, we just took our extra change of pants,shirt and boots long with our guns and ammo to school in our rigs, the only times I went before was to get my dog when we were bird hunting.
You mean to say only people who live in the western part of the USA are knowledgeable in the safe handling of firearms? What a stupid comment that is!!
Ironical that his name is Reiner like RobReiner, the liberal moron who played the Meathead in Archie Bunker.
I wish they would shut up about gun control we’ll never let them take our guns of any calibers or SEMI auto AR15 if these hippie liberals and others would teach their kids to stand up to bullys instead of letting them keep on bulling to where it screws your kid in head till they go on a killing rampage.their just a scared of u than u are them thats why they act tuff or just bust their nose or head they’ll quit it.but if they kick your butt pick your ass up and move on they want do it again because u stood up to them they’ll respect you for it.so quit whiny and take a stand to stop bullies!
TEACHER’S ARMED ISN’T A PROBLEM IF PROPERLY TRAINED!! EVEN THE LAWENFORCEMENT NEEDS EVALUATION AND TRAINING AND QUALIFIED EVERY YEAR TO STAY SHARP!!
It’s just a posed picture. Look at it again, this time with your eyes open. The hammer is not back. It’s not cocked. Probably not one in the chamber either.
Even if you are right, I would rather have this guy than nothing, which is what you got now.
Owen, you are right about the position of the hammer!!! But there are some things that you left out in describing the picture: (1) that is a 1911 .45 caliber semi auto pistol, (2) it could very well be a weapon that could be called a double action pistol, which means the hammer does not need to be in the cocked position, just pull the trigger and “BANG”!!!!! (3) maybe the magazine in in the grip or maybe not you can not really tell by the placement of the hand! last but not least (4) in all hunter safety classes that I have attended and taught, one of the most important things that I taught was “TREAT EVERY GUN AS IF IT WERE LOADED” and “NEVER PLACE YOUR FINGER ON THE TRIGGER UNTIL YOU ARE SURE OF YOUR TARGET AND READY TO SHOOT”!!!! So please try to persuade someone else about what you see nd think, because it didn’t work on this “OLD VET”!!!!!!!!
Yes, its a posed picture. And it illustrates a person in a school situation that is ignorant regarding safe practices of firearm handling. We are to handle every firearm as if it were loaded, period. Why would an article supporting safe firearm practices choose to select an accompanying image that depicts such an obvious breech of protocol? I strongly recommend a review of your editorial staff.
Instead of your knee jerk reactions, look at the safety and the hammper. The hammer is not back, so this gun will NOT fire as it is a Single Action 1911. The safety appears to be ON too. That is a heavy gun, so it is somewhat difficult to handle anyway, especially if all your fingers are not in play and you are carrying a load of school books. IF the hammer had been cocked and the safety OFF, then you would be right.
Most teachers are anti-gun. They believe in “peace, love and understanding”. They haven’t experienced the real world.
This proposal is one that was made by a common sense person who cares about the safety of the children. As stated in the article the School gun free zone makes the children easy targets for any mentally unbalanced person who wants to kill in large numbers. Also as stated if all teachers at a school were required to be trained and armed that is a school I would want my children attending I would know they were safe.!!
What’s wrong with fencing schools, puting security guards at gate with medal detectors.use retired soldiers.
Maybe it would gain traction if existing teachers with existing permits and new hires with existing permits would be given the choice to carry. I would not want someone carrying a firearm because a bureaucrat forced them to, that is a recipe for certain disaster. Look back in our history and see how well the draft worked.
I fully agree these teachers should have to carry it and it should be a condition of employment and if they don’t like that then they can find yourself another trade. The left likes the children to be targets so they’ve got something to use to make people scramble to them for the answer. The communist a.k.a. Democrat party creates the problem ( making schools a gun free zone to make children targets the promoter evil agenda ) , So they can sell you the antidote for the problem they have created! Think about it,
Hay, Allen, you did not notice that the gun was not cocked!!
Bill read the note that I gave to Owen, it will explain a few thing to you too!!!!!
Bad habits die hard! Keep the finger off of the trigger until ready to shoot!
What fool would line sights on a active shooter then put his finger on the trigger? Also to fire ACCURATE shots your grip must be uniform , that is the same each time you handle your pistol, including finger placement on the trigger. and Bill of course he didn’t know the gun was not cocked Or this is a single action gun which would , of course has to be manually cocked to fire the first round . Far to many experts in the firearms world .
What about the saying, “if you can’t do the job, teach”? Looking back at the teachers I had in the 60s, many who saw action in WWII or Korea, there is only 1 that I remember as sane enough to be around firearms and the kids they were teaching.
We had women concentration camp refugee teachers, German women teachers that hated men(after living through the Russian Army’s defeat of East Germany). I had a great teacher that had been shot down and lived in a POW camp in North Korea(who was drunk after lunch every day), another who had been in a German POW camp – all were damaged, which is why they taught junior and senior high school, they wouldn’t last in the real world.
Most of these morons can only teach their liberal crap, the thought of putting a weapon the hands of people like these ?????, makes you wonder if it’s not like putting the fox in the hen house, can they be trusted to not do what they are there to prevent ?
Not that the picture is demonstrating proper safe gun handling techniques but I’m surprised that no one commented that since the firearm is a 1911 variant, which is single action only, since it isn’t cocked and locked it wouldn’t be ready to fire.
John
Marine WWII Vet. Pacific I have written newspaper articles how to prevent school children’s from being murdered – it’s very simple – train teachers that won’t to be train to carry a conceal weapon – they will be trained by Marine or Navy Seal SNIPERS at no cost to U.S. citizens.. Logic is foreign to above IDIOTS>
All of you are right to a degree… I have been through limited weapons training in the USAF. I have completed two carry permit classes; and I have been a teacher for forty-seven years. My shop class is the first room at the rear entrance of the building. If I were allowed to carry in my school, I think I could save many lives.
I also have been trained to keep that finger away from the trigger until you are definitely ready with a correct target in your sight line and your stance and arms are in the correct position.
I am ready to protect my students with my life. But at least give me a chance to survive and/ or prevent a mass shooting.
Since 1950, that is 68 years, all except four mass murders have taken place in what we now call GUN FREE ZONES! That shouldn’t take a rocket surgeon, or a brain scientist to figure out.
Credit that research to John Lott.
I’m out of this state as soon as possible. And I’m leaving a forcloser behind. Good luck the state can’t be saved from liberal
all schools nation wide should have armed teachers the nut jobs like david and others wont be so froggy to start shooting
Please make current teachers qualify and carry too. Maybe a bunch of them would quit and not be there in class indoctrinating students in the liberal line. DOUBLE BENEFIT: Protect the students from crazies and prevent indoctrination.
Regardless of picking at details, it is a step forward in protection of our most valuable asset, our children.
If ‘teachers’ REALLY cared about their students they wouldn’t be such pussies about guns. They would realize that NOBODY but they are going to defend themselves AND their precious students from an attacker.
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