3/14/2018
President Trump wants to arm 600,000 teachers with concealed weapons to carry in the classrooms.
Many people believe the idea to arm teachers is misguided, some even believe it is idiotic. Trump apparently assumes all teachers are sane and mentally stable. He also believes that trained teachers won’t make mistakes and accidentally fire their weapons, possibly injuring or even killing innocent students.
During the past two weeks, Trump’s assumptions have been proven false. In Georgia, a mentally unfit teacher who was allowed to carry a handgun lost his mind, locked himself in a classroom and began shooting (Teacher With Gun Goes Nuts At School). Yesterday, a “trained” teacher and a safety official both accidently discharged their guns at school, injuring one innocent student.
Dennis Alexander, a reserve officer with the Sand City California Police Department, was teaching a lesson at Seaside High School when he pointed his gun into the ceiling and accidentally fired it, said Abdul Pridgen, the city’s police chief. The errant bullet ricocheted off the ceiling, sending out fragments that injured three students, including a 17-year-old who was struck in the neck. It’s unclear why the teacher was displaying the firearm. Alexander did not have authorization to bring a gun to the school, but apparently thought it was okay as he was a “trained safety expert”.
In a separate incident, a school resource officer at George Washington Middle School in Alexandria, Virginia, accidentally discharged a weapon while inside his office, according to the Alexandria Police Department. The officer who accidentally fired his weapon was not immediately identified, but police said he is a five-year veteran of the Alexandria Police Department. He was placed on routine administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation, officials said.
These incidents, along with others beg the question: What could possibly go wrong when guns are brought into a school? Just about anything.
