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Concealed carry
Feb. 22nd, 2018 09:48 amI'm listening to the president's suggestion that teachers get concealed carry licenses and then additional training for dealing with active shooter situations in the school
A few years ago I took a concealed carry class. It was for Texas, not Florida. But it gave me a sense of what is involved. I took a class, a written test, and a shooting test. I believe that everyone in my class passed all of the tests. All three were easy. Yes, even the shooting test was SO EASY. The required targets were pitifully easy to hit. And I'm not that great of a shot! Some of my fellow students didn't know how to load a gun! This training would NOT prepare me to go against an active shooter. Not at all. Not even a little bit.
The only thing that class taught me was that if I decide to use any form of lethal force against someone (gun, baseball bat, knife), I should be prepared to face the legal consequences of my actions. There is no pass for using deadly force just because I have a concealed carry license. Whatever the situation, I would have to decide that avoiding the alternative (not using deadly force and whatever the person decided to do) is worth any price I would have to pay.
The president also suggested that the teachers get additional training on top of the concealed carry licenses. Given my experience in the concealed carry class, I have tried to imagine what that would take. It would be a LOT of training. Many hours. A great deal of money and a huge amount of time. Further, this training would need to be regularly refreshed. These teachers would have to get the equivalent of the very best training in weapons use in large crowds of friendly students. We don't want the teachers accidentally hitting their students!
My independent Texas soul likes the idea of teachers defending their students. But... where would the teachers get the money to pay for this training? And this training would be on top of their regular job... WHEN would they find the time to do it? Most teachers get paid so little that they have to get second jobs in the summer to make ends meet. I want teachers focusing on being the best teachers for their students. This training sounds like the time equivalent of a second job, but without the pay.
A few years ago I took a concealed carry class. It was for Texas, not Florida. But it gave me a sense of what is involved. I took a class, a written test, and a shooting test. I believe that everyone in my class passed all of the tests. All three were easy. Yes, even the shooting test was SO EASY. The required targets were pitifully easy to hit. And I'm not that great of a shot! Some of my fellow students didn't know how to load a gun! This training would NOT prepare me to go against an active shooter. Not at all. Not even a little bit.
The only thing that class taught me was that if I decide to use any form of lethal force against someone (gun, baseball bat, knife), I should be prepared to face the legal consequences of my actions. There is no pass for using deadly force just because I have a concealed carry license. Whatever the situation, I would have to decide that avoiding the alternative (not using deadly force and whatever the person decided to do) is worth any price I would have to pay.
The president also suggested that the teachers get additional training on top of the concealed carry licenses. Given my experience in the concealed carry class, I have tried to imagine what that would take. It would be a LOT of training. Many hours. A great deal of money and a huge amount of time. Further, this training would need to be regularly refreshed. These teachers would have to get the equivalent of the very best training in weapons use in large crowds of friendly students. We don't want the teachers accidentally hitting their students!
My independent Texas soul likes the idea of teachers defending their students. But... where would the teachers get the money to pay for this training? And this training would be on top of their regular job... WHEN would they find the time to do it? Most teachers get paid so little that they have to get second jobs in the summer to make ends meet. I want teachers focusing on being the best teachers for their students. This training sounds like the time equivalent of a second job, but without the pay.
