A new bill proposed by Texas state Rep. Dan Flynn in January speaks of arming Texas teachers with guns and allowing them to use deadly force against students. Naturally, this has added more fuel to the fire that is already roasting a lot of tongues around the country.
The bill, called The Teacher's Protection Act, offers teachers the opportunity to protect themselves both from unruly students and unwanted intrusion from others in the campus. It will also ensure that they will not face any kind of prosecution for their actions if they do use these firearms.
One of the biggest supporters of gun rights, Flynn has worked hard to bring this about and pushed his agenda tirelessly. In the past, he has co-authored several laws about gun-training hours and for allowing guns on campus.
Among other incidents, the Sandy Hook shooting of 2012 has shaken the education system to the core. With two dozen students and teachers killed in that mindless massacre in Newtown, Connecticut, the debate for gun safety has taken on new meaning altogether. Gun advocates now want teachers to be armed, and this latest bill will allow them to use deadly force to protect school property.
But the detractors of the bill say this protective stance is just a small part of what the bill is proposing. Texas teachers have been allowed to keep firearms in their classroom for some time now, but with this bill they can now use active force to enforce disciplinary action in schools and not be accountable or responsible for the injury or even death of a student.
When the video of a teacher in a New Jersey school being body slammed by a high school student went viral just a few days after this, advocates and supporters of the bill heartily endorsed their decision all over again.
But, for those against these gun regulations, this seemed like an excuse to add more arms to the arsenal. They feel that Texans already have more protection for self-defense and educators in Texas have more legal protection than others to have active license to use these firearms on campus.
Detractors fear this may lead to more crime and violence, especially school violence. We are no strangers to the fact that increase in emotional stress may lead to unsettling actions, and we don't need psychologists to point out how this may increase the chances of one easily pulling the trigger.
Monty Exter, a lobbyist with the Association of Texas Professional Educators, suggested to the Houston Chronicle that all of these regulations are best determined at the local level. It makes senses since the demographic data can differ from one place to another to a large extent.
As a result of this, we are now seeing various developments across the country, all ultimately focused at the same end — increased campus safety.
Some of the highlighted news reports showcase rural school districts like Dora, Missouri, which has decided to not just arm but also train their teachers in the use of guns. States like Colorado, North Dakota and Wyoming are pushing for expanded laws that will allow people with concealed weapons licenses to bring firearms to school campuses.
As North Dakota Rep. Dwight Kiefert told U.S. News and World Report, "We would like schools to have more options for protection." Will K-12 schools to college campuses be deadly weapons zones from now on?
Yes, there is the need for protection — for both students and teachers — but it seems that the waters have become quite murky already. Who needs the guns, who will use them and at whom will these be pointed have become moot points. The picture that is emerging is deadly and violent, and it seems the children are as vulnerable as ever.
