Commenters on the AJC Get Schooled blog disagreed on whether school safety would be enhanced if teachers and staff were armed. Here is a sampling of comments under the poster’s chosen screen name:
DS: Many of us grew up watching TV shows with gunfights where the hero manages to shoot the gun out of the bad guy's hands or wings him in the shoulder. That's the way it works, right? No, it isn't. If you look at data from actual gunfights, most shots fired are misses, even among highly trained experts. In the Empire State Building shooting last August, police officers fired 16 shots at an armed gunman. They got him, but also wounded nine bystanders. Now think about a school filled with children. Do you seriously want more people firing guns, with more bullets flying around, missing their targets and possible hitting children?
Centrist: Only a few staff members in schools need to be trained and armed. Cowards wishing to slaughter defenseless targets will turn away from schools if they know they are defended, and parents should support it instead of allowing their children to be possibly at risk.
HSMathteacher: I support arming teachers and some staff — no matter the consequence. The worst that could happen beats the alternative hands down. I don't consider this issue a political one. I believe teachers and school staff, many who care for the children second only to their own families, should be trusted and armed. People who go to schools with the intent to kill children are psychopaths with all the warmth of a shark. If you see a mad dog in the road, kill it.
Redweather: I hope that if we begin to arm teachers, they will have to undergo a thorough psychological evaluation before being armed, and an annual psychological checkup. After all, the oft-cited reason we have all these mass shootings is because we do such a poor job tracking mental health risks.
TeacherandMom: I will leave the profession if I'm required to carry a gun to work. Arming teachers is not a practical solution. Arming teachers will never create a safe haven. To effectively arm teachers, taxpayers need to be prepared to pay for extensive firearm training similar to military and police firearm training. Somehow, I think it would be cheaper in the long run to pay for an armed security guard at each school. Luckily, I'm not too concerned about leaving the profession over a firearm. I do believe this is one area where calmer, more sensible heads will prevail.
Class: I am in favor of letting certain school staff voluntarily become armed, but only after rigorous background checks and regular mental health screening. Then, you have to address how the guns will be stored at school. We don't want to bring guns into a school environment that crazies use against us. They should be locked in secure gun safes. However, that is just one side of the coin; we need to focus on how to stop a potential shooter at the door. How to bolt classroom doors to deny entry into the classroom. Maybe how to use non-lethal means (bear Mace?) as a last resort. I think many more teachers would be up to using bear Mace that would not kill as a last resort to having their kids killed.
Petel: Dear God. What have we come to as a society? We're back in the wild, wild west. Very, very sad and tragic.
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