Readers React: Gun-carrying teachers — what could possibly go wrong?

To the editor: I took Latin all four years in high school in Birmingham, Ala., to keep from being bused to a school with a reputation for violence. I think it was about 1970 when I learned that my English teacher, who had transferred from the campus that I did not want to be bused to, always brought a gun to school. (“A new staple of schoolteacher training: Active shooter drills,” July 7)

I liked him. He was one of my first black teachers, but I was always conscious of where he may have kept his gun and of his temperament at any given time. It was also a first for me to know that I had an armed teacher.

I don’t think guns make schools safer, contrary to those who believe teachers should be armed and trained to respond to shooters. There were too many of us back then who loved it when we could get hold of a gun. We wanted to be “empowered” as well.

Ronald Webster, Long Beach

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To the editor: What makes some people think that teachers are exempt from being unstable? We frequently read where male and female teachers alike are tried and convicted of sexual misconduct with their underage students.

It would only be a matter of time before one of these “trained” teachers loses it and opens fire on students. Arming educators is not the answer but is the precursor to more tragedy.

Eric Saudi, Altadena

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To the editor: If Utah and other states want to go down the misguided path of arming teachers, they may want to consider not arming substitute teachers. That could lead to frequent tragedies.

Paul Burns, Granada Hills

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