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200 Utah teachers get free gun training in response to Newtown shooting

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D

Dram

Member
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/28/us-usa-guns-teachers-idUSBRE8BR02N20121228

On Thursday, she was one of 200 Utah teachers who flocked to an indoor sports arena for free instruction in the handling of firearms by gun activists who say armed educators might have a chance at thwarting deadly shooting rampages in their schools.

The event was organized by the Utah Shooting Sports Council in response to the mass shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, this month that killed 20 children and six staff members at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

The council said it has typically attracted about 16 teachers each year to its concealed carry training courses. But Thursday's event near Salt Lake City, organized especially for educators in the aftermath of Newtown, drew interest from hundreds, and the class was capped at 200 for space limitations.

The Newtown massacre reignited a national debate over gun safety. President Barack Obama signaled his support for reinstating a national ban on assault-style rifles and urged Congress to act. The National Rifle Association has called for posting armed guards at schools and rejected new gun-control measures.

The National Education Association and a number of school officials criticized the NRA's stance, but it got a warmer reception in some parts of the West, where hunting and guns are prevalent.

Utah is one of a handful of states that allows people with concealed-carry licenses to take their weapons onto school property, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Clark Aposhian, head of the Utah Shooting Sports Council and a certified firearms instructor, organized the event on Thursday to provide teachers with permits to allow them to carry concealed handguns in the classroom. He waived the usual $50 fee for the course.
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J

Joates

Banned
So according to gaf mentality, there should be lots of deaths in Utah schools in the coming months, maybe years?
 
Y

Yoritomo

Member
Good for the teachers. It shouldn't be a responsibility or requirement but there's no reason to be angry about them having a license or carrying in school when it is legal to do so. It'd be nice if teachers had to undergo the background checks that are typically required for a concealed carry license anyway.
 
J

Joates

Banned
I find it funny though that a thread about the possibility of something like this happening had about 10+ pages of speculation about "more guns not being the answer" and only leading to more carnage, but when the wheels start actually turning, no one has much to say...
 
D

Dresden

Member
Joates said:
I find it funny though that a thread about the possibility of something like this happening had about 10+ pages of speculation about "more guns not being the answer" and only leading to more carnage, but when the wheels start actually turning, no one has much to say...
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stop
 
R

Rubbish King

The gift that keeps on giving
Im pretty sure there are teachers out there who are mentally unstable....or depressed and putting a gun in their hands might not be wise..


Joates said:
So I'm assuming gaf doesn't have a mentality toward creationism either...
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lol, you just dont give a fuuuuuuckk


Joates said:
I find it funny though that a thread about the possibility of something like this happening had about 10+ pages of speculation about "more guns not being the answer" and only leading to more carnage, but when the wheels start actually turning, no one has much to say...
Click to expand...


tumblr_mbhq7amJsd1rv0vuxo4_1280.jpg
 
Y

Yoritomo

Member
Joates said:
I find it funny though that a thread about the possibility of something like this happening had about 10+ pages of speculation about "more guns not being the answer" and only leading to more carnage, but when the wheels start actually turning, no one has much to say...
Click to expand...

Gaf was pretty reasonable about the gun permit map from the new york area paper. People react badly when tragedy strikes. Stop looking for an argument when no one gives a shit.
 
C

Choke on the Magic

Banned
Thread derailed in less than 20 posts lol.
I'm amazed at how many are jumping on board with this guns for teachers thing. I just assumed teachers would be too liberal to even touch a gun.
 
J

Jobiensis

Member
Call me crazy, but I'm more willing to bet that a freak school shooting won't happen at my child's school vs some dipshit accidentally discharging a firearm in a classroom. With all the problems in CA, we at least don't allow this stupidity.
 
Y

Yoritomo

Member
Wiggler said:
If I was a student or parent, I'd be really uncomfortable with all this.
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Why?

CCW licensees are significantly more law abiding than the general populace. It requires 2 background checks and it can be revoked at any time if they break the law in the future. Hell, until september of last year you couldn't get a concealed handgun license in texas if you were behind on child support or student loan payments. Dunno about Utah though.

All I know is Arizona is crazy.
 
W

Wickerbasket

Member
Choke on the Magic said:
Thread derailed in less than 20 posts lol.
I'm amazed at how many are jumping on board with this guns for teachers thing. I just assumed teachers would be too liberal to even touch a gun.
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It probably has to do with fear, especially straight after the recent shooting.

With so many guns around, from some people's perspective, it only makes sense that you'd want to protect yourself and your kids with one.

In the end, it will probably just lead to escalation.
 
Y

Yoritomo

Member
Joates said:
Congrats on the worst 24th post in this thread, now redeem yourself with telling us how you feel about this decision by these Utah teachers.
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You just really want a heated argument huh? Not even a decent debate and some quotes with statistics and a reasonable discourse about why this isn't a tragedy of humanity.

I could switch sides for this thread if you want.

Wickerbasket said:
It probably has to do with fear, especially straight after the recent shooting.

With so many guns around, from some people's perspective, it only makes sense that you'd want to protect yourself and your kids with one.

In the end, it will probably just lead to escalation.
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It hasn't led to escalation in any jurisdiction that has passed shall issue concealed carry legislation in the past 15 years. One of the main things they do when passing shall-issue concealed carry legislation is they start keeping statistics of all infractions by license holders. It's pretty easy to see if there's escalation... and there hasn't been. There's no blood in the streets. Crime and even gun homicide is continuing to fall even with continuously liberalized gun laws in the US.
 
W

Wickerbasket

Member
Yoritomo said:
It hasn't led to escalation in any jurisdiction that has passed shall issue concealed carry legislation in the past 15 years. One of the main things they do when passing shall-issue concealed carry legislation is they start keeping statistics of all infractions by license holders. It's pretty easy to see if there's escalation... and there hasn't been. There's no blood in the streets. Crime and even gun homicide is continuing to fall even with continuously liberalized gun laws in the US.
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As someone from the UK, I just can't imagine how handing people more guns is a solution to people killing people with guns. It makes people feel safer I guess.
 
Hale-XF11

Hale-XF11

Member
Yoritomo said:
Why?

CCW licensees are significantly more law abiding than the general populace. It requires 2 background checks and it can be revoked at any time if they break the law in the future. Hell, until september of last year you couldn't get a concealed handgun license in texas if you were behind on child support or student loan payments. Dunno about Utah though.

All I know is Arizona is crazy.
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Well, are the students being educated on how all this is being handled, knowing now that they have no choice but to be subject to being surrounded by guns inside of their school? For instance, how lax are the laws? Is there a penalty for leaving a weapon sitting out in the open anywhere for any period of time? Are guns required to be locked up at all times if the person isn't carrying it on them? Are there safety measures to prevent a kid from stealing a gun from a teacher? I'm sure this brings up other questions I can't think of at the moment, but that's a start.
 
B

Bornstellar

Member
For people that didn't bother reading the OP - these teachers already had CCW permits and already were allowed to bring their firearms on school property. How could additional training be a bad thing?
 
S

someday

Banned
I have come to accept that this is going to be the future for a lot of states. I was taken aback by the NRA's stance, but after checking, it seems there are plenty of schools that already have armed guards. I don't think this in an of itself will stop a Newtown from happening, it didn't stop Columbine, but if that's what the community wants, I can't stop it.

As for this in Utah, they are already allowed to have guns on campus so this just seems like something the community is ok with. I am against forcing this on a community that doesn't want it, but I won't attempt to stop one that does. Maybe I'm just giving up but if guns are going to be prevalent in the US anyway, I guess we should make sure to arm everyone. Fuck it.
 
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