San Marcos responds to arming teachers

By: Raul Biscaino  

R_b99@txstate.edu  

SAN MARCOS, Texas — The debate of arming teachers as a defense to mass shooters is being intensified throughout the nation as Americans witness yet another high school shooting.   

In the wake of the recent Florida school shooting, the March for Our Lives march, and President Donald Trump tweeting support and perhaps monetary bonuses for armed teachers, legislation for arming teachers is perhaps being considered by state lawmakers.  

According to a Pew Research article, a survey found that more than half of U.S. adults would oppose allowing teachers and officials to carry guns in K-12 schools. 

Beverly Holt, 23, an education major at Texas State, believes arming teachers is not the route needed to tackle the issue at hand.  

“I don’t think teachers should be armed because imagine you’re a firefighter trying to put out a fire, you wouldn’t use more fire to put it out. With that logic, why would we add more guns to teachers when there’s professionals who already have guns?” said Holt.  

Jason Crouch, a reference assistant at Texas State, disagreed with the idea of arming educators however acknowledged some educators perhaps are already carrying concealed weapons around campuses. 

“I think there are already some that do carry concealed, but I think that just on the face of it, arming teachers is not necessarily a good solution,” Crouch said. 

Like every other issue our nation faces, there are voices that disagree with the majority opinion and believe arming teachers perhaps is a direction the nation should consider. 

Morgan Glenn, a communications disorders major, agrees with the idea of arming teachers believing it could be a possible solution to stopping further violence.    

“Yes. I mean, I think it’s beneficial in a way because if there is another incident like this again then at least we have people who know what to do and they can help protect us and even eventually our own children at one point,” said Glenn.  

Brittany Matt, a communication disorders major at Texas State, grew up around guns in her conservative town. While expressing the need for gun control, arming teachers is something she would consider. 

“I think faculty with specific qualifications and certifications to conceal carry firearms on school grounds could produce a better turn of events in a school shooting. This being a touchy subject of debate, I think it is worth it as an attempt for safety,” Matt said. 

Americans demanding the banning of military style firearms is a result of the mass media focusing more on the type of firearms being used in mass shootings. 

  

 Seth Irwin, an electrical engineer residing in San Marcos, believes banning certain types of guns available to the masses would be a better alternative to stop mass shootings. 

“For starters, ban assault rifles. And by ban I mean make it as hard to buy a fully automatic rifles,” Irwin said.  

Leela Rao, a current Junior studying special education, expressed uneasiness with a topic directly affecting her future place of work. 

“Personally, it’s really scary. I’m currently student teaching at a school in New Braunfels and when the Parkland shooting happened, my mom immediately called me asking, “Do you know what you’re supposed to do when you’re with those kids?” and I responded, “Not really, I’m not sure.”” Rao said.  

Arming teachers in schools K-12 to prevent mass shootings is a popular opinion in reaction to Parkland Shooting

By Katie Irwin

Kdi7@txstate.edu

SAN MARCOS, Texas — After the devastating mass shooting last month at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida that took 17 lives, the gun control debate is at an all-time high. One of the main arguments for preventing mass shootings in schools K-12, is to arm the teachers.

In the wake of the March for Our Lives last week, the San Marcos community reacts to the gun control debate and express what they know about the possible solution of arming teachers in schools.

Micah Calton

Photo by Prince Imo

Micah Calton, a 21-year-old healthcare administration major, said guns should not be allowed anywhere and that they are extremely dangerous. He said teachers should not be armed and the only people that should be legally armed is the military.

“In my opinion, that’s repulsive to even imagine! The only place on Earth I think you should find a weapon such as a firearm, should be in combat, during war, and nowhere else. Guns are for emergency protection and used to execute death,” said Calton.

Some people agree that teachers should be armed in schools K-12 because it could help if there ever is an active shooter. Some people disagree and believe it only decreases the safety of the students and faculty.

Chloe Butler

Photo by Corey Hammonds

Chloe Butler, a 20-year-old special education major and psychology minor, said guns in schools is questionable and could be a difficult or touchy subject, but she believes it could be a safe solution.

“Personally, my thoughts about guns in schools is that they could possibly be a good alternative for protection for students and faculty,” said Butler.

Leela Rao

Photo by Camelia Juarez

Leela Rao, 21-year-old majoring in special education and Spanish, said she was student teaching when the Parkland shooting occurred. She said she wouldn’t know what to do in a situation like that as a teacher, and she is against arming school faculty.

“Personally, it’s really scary. Being a student teacher, I know the basis, but it’s really scary knowing that this is something that can happen in a school and that it’s happening so frequently. My personal philosophy is that the less guns the better, so I’m all for gun control,” said Rao.

Most people in the U.S. are for gun control in result to the Parkland shooting, but some remain in favor of no change in gun laws.

Nyssa Norman

Photo by Hallie Colbert

Nyssa Norman, a 17-year-old local high school student, said that she thinks a good solution for diminishing gun violence in schools is simple – gun control.

“Don’t distribute them [guns] to people who aren’t capable of owning one. Conduct psychological tests, deeper background checks and a longer waiting period. Restrict anyone who’s had domestic violence charges,” said Norman.

Jacob Seabolt

Photo by Hallie Colbert

Jacob Seabolt, a criminal justice major, said he thinks there shouldn’t be any gun control and that the Second Amendment is a right.

“I think people should be able to have any kind of gun that they want. I think that it's a government intrusion to make any rule otherwise,” said Seabolt.

Jamie Bouzard

Photo by Shelley Kellar

Jamie Bouzard, the Director of Christ Chapel at Texas State, said he prefers the way Australia and Canada handle gun control where firearms are strictly controlled.

“I think our gun laws are absolutely ridiculous. They are far too generous in terms of allowing people access to firearms. Turns out that it’s not some sort of massive government conspiracy, but indeed a way to keep people from dying at the incredible rate in which they die in this country,” said Bouzard.

Read more about gun control, arming teachers in schools and the March for Our Lives here.

Texas State University community voices opinions on arming teachers K-12

By: Prince Imo

p_i7@txstate.edu

SAN MARCOS, Texas — A national debate to arm teachers K-12 has sparked a major uproar. One side wants better gun control, while the other wants to arm teachers with guns.

photo by Sarah Atterbury

Two weeks after the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, President Donald Trump and some members of congress came together to discuss solutions in reducing gun violence in schools, and he later showed his support of arming teachers through social media. Regardless of Trump’s support, the majority of teachers don’t want to carry guns. A recent Gallup poll shows that73 percent of oppose the idea while 20 percent favor it.

Dr. Donald S. Inbody, lecturer for political science, believes it’s a bad idea to arm K-12 teachers.

“I have no fundamental problem against people carrying concealed weapons, I just don’t think it’s a good idea to use it in that environment for that group of people because they aren’t trained to use it under a stressful circumstance,” Inbody said.

Current Texas State student studying to be a future teacher, Casey Sigerman, said arming teachers will affect the learning environment of students.

photo by: Casey Sigerman

“I think it negates the idea that so many people hold that schools should be considered a safe place because when you include or when you put in the necessity for teachers to be armed, automatically it makes schools less of a safe haven or sanctuary for students to go to every day,” said Sigerman.

Sigerman also said that she’ll have more pressure and responsibility as a teacher in the future.

“It’s interesting because when I went into education, never did I think that this was something I would deal with in my profession. I didn’t think this would ever be something that I’d have to talk about or deal with and it’s extremely sad,” Sigerman said.

Micah Calton, a healthcare administration major, said that he is very concerned with schools’ ability to keep students safe.

photo by: Prince Imo

“Concerned not so much about the school’s initiative/ability on the matter, more-so with the local and higher authorities, the ones who set standards and motion procedures for the schools, that direct them. They never seem to make a valuable difference in changing how protected our students are or feel. It’s a scary time to be a student in America, to be honest; I’m very concerned,” Micah said.

Public administration major, Katie Johnston, said that if she were still high school, she’ll be ok with it.

“Where I grew up guns were normal. Everyone had a gun. The people who did have guns definitely knew how to use them are were responsible. If that was the atmosphere I would 100% feel comfortable, but like I said if we can't afford the proper training then I wouldn't feel comfortable,” Johnston said.

Garret Hanson, finance major, is more than in support with arming teachers K-12. He said that his relationship with guns allows him to see the positive side of the controversial idea.

photo by: Rachel Lauten and Sierra Tyler

“I’m proud to have a gun. I feel like everyone should have a gun at least if you need one. Everyone thinks that you just need a gun for hunting and stuff like that but self-defense, there’s so many times people just need a gun to save themselves or save a person they know,” Hanson said.

photo by: Brianna Fisher

Jennifer Lones, mother of two and current general studies major, believes that parents shouldn’t be given the choice whether guns are allowed in school.

“Parents would never agree, someone would always feel as if they weren't being heard and because of this there would be resentment and possible backlash from those parents,” Lones said. 

Gun control has always been a big issue in the United States, and there needs to be some kind of change. Contact Congress to ask what Is being done to stop the epidemic of gun violence.