Saturday, March 9, 2013

And Now the Stage Is Set

Trey Smith


This week the Governor of South Dakota signed into law a measure to allow teachers to carry guns in school. Supposedly, this will make schoolchildren in South Dakota safer, but I predict it will lead to consequences that the supporters of this legislation will express complete surprise of: One or more dead students!

How can I be so certain? Just look at the police.

Over the last few years, there have been countless situations in which the police have grossly overreacted. A "suspect" is acting belligerently. Maybe he yells angrily at the officers. Maybe he's mentally ill and doesn't understand precisely what the police want. Maybe he's simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. Though not armed (or armed with an object that, in any other situation, would not be considered a "deadly weapon") and obviously not a bona fide danger, the officer or officers overreact and shoot the poor fellow. And these officers are trained to deal with life and death situations!

Now, imagine a teacher who has no such training. A student becomes belligerent. Maybe he or she won't report to the principal's office as instructed. Maybe he or she starts cursing at the teacher. Maybe he or she makes a verbal threat. In the heat of the moment, the teacher overreacts and the unarmed student is shot to death.

The school district will probably do precisely what police departments all over the country do. They will close ranks around the teacher as a way of saying the killing was justified.

If this sort of scenario plays out a few times, then parents will start demanding that children be allowed to carry guns in schools so they can protect themselves against gun-toting teachers!

Where will it stop?

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