By Mariam Elhommoud
mme39@txstate.edu
SAN MARCOS, Texas — In light of recent debate, the San Marcos community shares differing
opinions on whether public school teachers should be allowed to conceal handguns in classrooms.
Since the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012, safety in schools and stricter
gun control has been a rising topic in society. However, with the recent tragic shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas in February, people are pressing for action stronger than ever.
According to NPR, President Trump has openly shown support for funding to train teachers to use
and conceal guns in classrooms on a volunteer basis. Following his statement, a debate arose on whether this would be the right move.
Rebekah Perez, a Psychology major, believes that guns in classrooms would not make a difference in the event of a shooting, and would only serve to negatively affect the school environment.
“I think that teachers should not be able to have guns where kids are regularly, and the fact that most
schools have on-duty police officers guarding their school makes guns in a classroom irrelevant,” said Perez. “If you’re going to have the police there already, there’s no need for every teacher to have a gun in his drawer."
Joseph Losoya, a Texas State Alumni and military veteran, states how teachers may not react properly in an emergency due to lack of experience.
“Just because you can shoot a gun doesn’t mean you can handle that situation. It’s going to be chaos,
a lot of kids running around, it’s very unorganized … they’re probably going to hit a student,” said Losoya.
E.J. Badu, a Business student, had similar views toward the subject.
“Being a teacher is a high-stressful job, so why would you give that person a gun? No, that doesn’t sound good at all,” said Badu.
On the opposite side of the debate, some believe that providing teachers with guns and training experience will improve the problem of school shootings exponentially.
In a recent CNN article, a school district in Arkansas was highlighted for training a dozen teachers
and staff members to use guns, instead of paying the same price for one extra security guard. Many school districts in other states have followed their lead.
Lynell Richter, a Public Administrations major, thinks teachers having guns is a good idea, as long as they are trained and they actively want to do it.
“I actually grew up in a small town … they didn’t have guns in the classroom, but just about every vehicle had at least one gun in it. Never had a shooting on campus, never had anyone come on campus with a gun … there was no accidental shootings because everybody that had a gun had the education to use it properly,” said Richter.
Sarah Ferrell, a future teacher, stated that having a gun would help protect her students in the classroom in the case of a school shooting. “I don’t think it will necessarily prevent danger, but I do think if something were to ever happen it would better the outcome,” said Ferrell.
Derek Cartey, Entrepreneurship major, had mixed feelings on the subject altogether.
“It’s a touchy subject to be honest. A part of me feels like it’s necessary and also a part of me feels like there should be gun restrictions at the same time.”
Readers can learn more on this topic by accessing articles from sites such as USA Today and Pew Research Center.
mme39@txstate.edu
SAN MARCOS, Texas — In light of recent debate, the San Marcos community shares differing
opinions on whether public school teachers should be allowed to conceal handguns in classrooms.
Since the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012, safety in schools and stricter
gun control has been a rising topic in society. However, with the recent tragic shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas in February, people are pressing for action stronger than ever.
According to NPR, President Trump has openly shown support for funding to train teachers to use
and conceal guns in classrooms on a volunteer basis. Following his statement, a debate arose on whether this would be the right move.
 |
Rebekah Perez
Photo by Mariam Elhommoud
|
Rebekah Perez, a Psychology major, believes that guns in classrooms would not make a difference in the event of a shooting, and would only serve to negatively affect the school environment.
“I think that teachers should not be able to have guns where kids are regularly, and the fact that most
schools have on-duty police officers guarding their school makes guns in a classroom irrelevant,” said Perez. “If you’re going to have the police there already, there’s no need for every teacher to have a gun in his drawer."
 |
Joseph Losoya
Photo by Cole Sanchez
|
Joseph Losoya, a Texas State Alumni and military veteran, states how teachers may not react properly in an emergency due to lack of experience.
“Just because you can shoot a gun doesn’t mean you can handle that situation. It’s going to be chaos,
a lot of kids running around, it’s very unorganized … they’re probably going to hit a student,” said Losoya.
 |
E.J. Badu
Photo by Mariam Elhommoud
|
E.J. Badu, a Business student, had similar views toward the subject.
“Being a teacher is a high-stressful job, so why would you give that person a gun? No, that doesn’t sound good at all,” said Badu.
On the opposite side of the debate, some believe that providing teachers with guns and training experience will improve the problem of school shootings exponentially.
In a recent CNN article, a school district in Arkansas was highlighted for training a dozen teachers
and staff members to use guns, instead of paying the same price for one extra security guard. Many school districts in other states have followed their lead.
 |
Lynell Richter
Photo by Shanell Smith
|
Lynell Richter, a Public Administrations major, thinks teachers having guns is a good idea, as long as they are trained and they actively want to do it.
“I actually grew up in a small town … they didn’t have guns in the classroom, but just about every vehicle had at least one gun in it. Never had a shooting on campus, never had anyone come on campus with a gun … there was no accidental shootings because everybody that had a gun had the education to use it properly,” said Richter.
 |
Sarah Ferrell
Photo by Raegan Babb
|
Sarah Ferrell, a future teacher, stated that having a gun would help protect her students in the classroom in the case of a school shooting. “I don’t think it will necessarily prevent danger, but I do think if something were to ever happen it would better the outcome,” said Ferrell.
 |
Derek Cartey
Photo by Alyssa Pierce
|
Derek Cartey, Entrepreneurship major, had mixed feelings on the subject altogether.
“It’s a touchy subject to be honest. A part of me feels like it’s necessary and also a part of me feels like there should be gun restrictions at the same time.”
Readers can learn more on this topic by accessing articles from sites such as USA Today and Pew Research Center.
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