Outside the Beltway

Rand Paul: Arm the Teachers

Steven L. Taylor
16

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Senator Rand Paul boosts the idea of armed educators:

Sen. Rand Paul said on Thursday that teachers and principals should carry concealed weapons in the classroom to prevent another mass shooting from happening.

“Is it perfect? No. Would they always get the killer? No. Would an accident sometimes happen in a melee? Maybe,” the Kentucky Republican told a group of business leaders in Oldham County, Ky.,according to the Courier-Journal. “But nobody [at Sandy Hook Elementary] had any defense, and he just kept shooting until he was tired and he decided to shoot himself.”

Plenty has been said about this idea, so I won’t delve too heavily into it (although since I am in education, and my wife, sister, and mother are/were all school teachers, I have some personal insight into exactly how stupid this idea is), I will say this:  it is utterly depressing the degree to which persons charged with making authoritative decisions for our society often have the sophistication of a a bunch of dudes pontificating over beers.

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16 responses to “Rand Paul: Arm the Teachers”

  1. Argon Avatar
    Argon

    Yeah, well if they had armed flight attendants his son might be dead…

  2. David Avatar
    David

    At least he is consistent in being batsh#t crazy.

  3. Scott Avatar
    Scott

    My wife, elementary school teacher, thinks these guys don’t know what they are talking about. They haven’t a clue how schools operate. Of course, this will cost money. Personally, and as the family bookkeeper, I say, that if there is extra money lying around, how about buying some school supplies so I don’t have to.

  4. Steven L. Taylor Avatar
    Steven L. Taylor

    @Scott: My guess is that the vast majority of teachers and those who know what teachers do would have the same reaction.

    And indeed about the supplies.

  5. Rafer Janders Avatar
    Rafer Janders

    I will say this: it is utterly depressing the degree to which persons charged with making authoritative decisions for our society often sound like characters from “Dr. Strangelove”:

    Rand Paul: “Is it perfect? No. Would they always get the killer? No. Would an accident sometimes happen in a melee? Maybe.”

    General “Buck” Turgidson: Mr. President, I’m not saying we wouldn’t get our hair mussed. But I do say no more than ten to twenty million killed, tops. Uh, depending on the breaks.

  6. James Pearce (Formerly Known as Herb) Avatar
    James Pearce (Formerly Known as Herb)

    That guy is an embarrassment to Kentucky. And Congress.

  7. legion Avatar
    legion

    You know why this is a terrible idea? Not because of the implied uselessness of teachers’ free time. Not because of the willful ignorance of where the money will come from. Not because of any of those reasons, though they are all terrible things. No, the reason this is awful is:

    From now on, whenever someone wants to shoot up a school, they’ll know they don’t have to run the risks of getting a gun before they come to school. They can just pick the one teacher they think they can beat up and take theirs.

  8. matt bernius Avatar
    matt bernius

    @Scott:
    To that point, it boggles the mind that the people who are usually front of the line when it comes to voting down school funding and budgets, are so front and center in demanding unnecessary and costly protective measures be installed in all schools.

    BTW, doesn’t adding security guards to all schools increase the number of government workers out there?

  9. al-Ameda Avatar
    al-Ameda

    I had no idea that Rand was a bozo too.

  10. Gustopher Avatar
    Gustopher

    Nothing says Freedom like drafting teachers and school administrators into the front line of a police state.

  11. edmondo Avatar
    edmondo

    Why don’t we arm the students too? A bunch of First Graders with 357 Magnums could be Darwin”s Dream. What could possibly go wrong?

  12. al-Ameda Avatar
    al-Ameda

    @edmondo:

    Why don’t we arm the students too? A bunch of First Graders with 357 Magnums could be Darwin”s Dream. What could possibly go wrong?

    You’re so negative. With appropriate NRA training these students will shoot only those who deserve to be shot, there will be no collateral damage.

  13. Tony W Avatar
    Tony W

    Between this and Santorum’s nutty anti-education rhetoric it sounds like the R’s have made the decision to double-down on crazy, rather than moderate to the center. Too bad, we’ve had some good Republicans over the years but it sounds like that era is coming to an end.

  14. de stijl Avatar
    de stijl

    @al-Ameda:

    With appropriate NRA training these students will shoot only those who deserve to be shot, there will be no collateral damage.

    Know your Target and Bed Bath and Beyond.

  15. stonetools Avatar
    stonetools

    To be honest, I’ve gotten to the stage where I wish the gun enthusiasts could just f#%k off to some parallel universe where they could run their demented social experiments where everyone is armed, everyplace, all the time. Unfortunately, they are going to remain here on Earth Prime and attempt to foist their vision on us with the help of the legislators they elect.
    Sorry for seeming so fed up, but the stupid is everywhere now, not just on the fringe where it belongs .

  16. Al Avatar
    Al

    Well, it was nice of him to give me something else to point to when Paul Sr. supporters claim that he’s the saner, more mainstream Paul.

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