South Dakota to allow armed teachers in schools

[Jazzy]

The US state of South Dakota has enacted a law allowing school districts to arm teachers and other school staff.



The law's backers say it will prevent mass school shootings like a December massacre in Connecticut that killed 26.



Amid a push by the White House to strengthen gun laws, the bill reflects a growing divide in the US over whether more or fewer guns keep people safe.



The measure does not force school districts to arm teachers and will not require teachers to carry guns.



But it allows each school district to choose if staff could be armed. It takes effect in July.



Under the Republican-sponsored bill, school staff given permission to carry firearms on campus will be known as school sentinels. The state has given a law enforcement commission the task of establishing a training programme for the sentinels.



Several representatives of school boards, teachers and other staff spoke against the bill in legislative hearings, arguing guns would make schools more dangerous.

Source



Question:



Do you agree with the law's backers arming teachers will prevent mass school shootings? Why or why not?

 

[Evil Eye]

Doubtful. In some cases, perhaps. But given that they aren't getting any training to go with that...

 

[Jazzy]

Doubtful. In some cases, perhaps. But given that they aren't getting any training to go with that...

It's in the quoted article:

Under the Republican-sponsored bill, school staff given permission to carry firearms on campus will be known as school sentinels. The state has given a law enforcement commission the task of establishing a training programme for the sentinels.

 

[Evil Eye]

But will they be required to attend?

 

[Jazzy]

But will they be required to attend?

From what I've read, if they sign up to be a school sentinel then they will have to attend training.



Even with training, do you think arming these school sentinels would prevent a mass school shooting?

 

[DrLeftover]

More than likely the Federal Department of Education is going to step in and say no, that since the schools in SD get money from Uncle that they can't do that.

 

[Jazzy]

Will be interesting to follow this and see if it gets passed or not.

 

[Evil Eye]

Even with training, do you think arming these school sentinels would prevent a mass school shooting?

They might not be able to prevent one entirely, but they might be able to stop one.

 

[seasidemike]

perhaps then the students should also be armed so they can defend themselves against the teachers,

and then arm the janitors so they can defend themselves against the students.

 

[DrLeftover]

Well....

Six days after she was sucker punched and beaten in her own Baltimore classroom, high school art teacher Jolita Berry still finds it almost impossible to watch the MySpace video of the attack. And she can’t make herself go back to work.

“I am petrified to go back to that particular building,” Berry told TODAY’s Matt Lauer on Thursday in New York. “I miss the good students that I have. I love them dearly, but I can’t do it.”

The attack happened last Friday morning in Berry’s classroom in Reginald F. Lewis High School in Baltimore. One of the girls in the class approached the 30-year-old teacher and got nose-to-nose with her and threatened her.

“I told her, ‘You’re in my personal space, back up. If you hit me, I will defend myself,’ ” Berry said. “Before I knew it, she hit me in the face.”

Berry characterized the girl as one who is easily influenced by peer pressure. “If they’re doing something crazy, she wants to go along,” Berry said, adding that other students in the class urged the girl to attack her.

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/24047456/...acher-petrified-after-being-attacked-student/

 

[Bluezone777]

I don't think it can prevent one but it could help stop one or at the very least keep a shooter out of that classroom as it would make it difficult to go into the classroom without getting shot so the shooter would just give up for easier targets.



I am still waiting for the reason as to why broadcasting that you are unarmed and defenseless is a good idea which is exactly what you do when you label an area gun free. Wouldn't it serve your interests to at least make it unclear as to who is armed or not?



You might have noticed that these types of shootings aren't going on inside police stations but I imagine the fact a large majority of the people in there are armed and trained has nothing to do with it. I am not saying everyone should be armed but those who can handle the responsibility of having a gun and can learn how to use it should be allowed to have one with them if they want it. You may not want to carry a gun but those who wish to do you harm will get a gun into almost any building that they can especially the ones that broadcast the fact they have none of their own.

 

[seasidemike]

Well....







http://www.nbcnews.c...tacked-student/

ya, and if that teacher defended herself.. the school would be sued and she would be suspended if not fired..

the system is so broken not even guns could fix it.