Letter: Arming teachers could lead to disaster

Sunday, Dec. 24, 2006 | 7:20 a.m.

The news media are reporting that the danger to schoolchildren is increasing so much that many people, including state Sen. Bob Beers, are considering arming the teachers. If at any time that danger is bad enough to even suggest teachers carrying guns, then it is time to shut the schools down and declare all-out war against the criminal elements. To have the teachers as armed soldiers or armed police, then we need to rethink why and how our police (force) is to work.

Sometimes people will offer off-the-wall advice and suggest stupid things. We need to get law enforcement to evaluate the problems and let them handle the job. We can offer to back them by helping them by being volunteers if necessary. I somehow do not believe arming the teachers with dangerous weapons is the answer.

The schools cannot have the danger of an armed teacher being distracted with his or her teaching duties and the possibility of losing that weapon to hostile class members. They just might use any distraction to overpower the teacher and use the guns to harm anyone in the classroom. Let's use professional, well-trained people to handle the brain work.

Ward Drollinger, Las Vegas