Don't arm teachers

Published January 17, 2013 1:01 am

This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Re "Utah ed leaders seek school safety assurances" (Tribune, Jan. 11):

State Superintendent Martell Menlove supports teachers carrying concealed weapons in schools. Clearly, he supports turning Utah public schools into armed camps. I doubt that most parents and law enforcement people support having numerous armed school personnel in the schools.

As a former principal, I know that the school resource officers must be armed. Perhaps the principal and assistant principals, too.

But if teachers have guns, who else would get killed or injured in the crossfire? Remember Joe Zamudio, the armed bystander in the Gabrielle Giffords' shooting? In the confusion, he nearly shot the wrong man.

We need to calm down and rethink encouraging large groups of adults to carry concealed weapons in our public schools. I do not think allowing concealed weapons is a rational law or practice.

Grant Hansen

St. George

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