Trump

[F-ZeroOne]

Trump is saying that what hes for is not arming all teachers, just the ones with professional backgrounds that involve firearms (former military personnel and the like).

The trouble there is that even professionals screw up around guns every so often; some form of firearms accident by someone who "should have known better" is virtually inevitable.

Meanwhile:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-43160484

NRA response:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-43158994

You're all a bunch of European Socialists!

[gilesgoat]

Failing that, how long until the first story of a teacher shooting a kid by mistake because they thought they had a gun?

If it's a mental health issue, the teachers are absolutely the last people you want to be arming. Overworked, overstressed, many suffering from depression and / or anxiety disorders, let's pile on the stress by making them a target and giving them life-and-death decisions over their students. How long before we have a high school mass shooting carried out by a teacher?

See what I wrote before, I'd say "it's MORE LIKELY that a teacher will finally snap having a gun in his/her pocket after too many years of abuse and start shooting pupils themselves".

Then think at the picture, all in a class there, N students packed in, teacher go bananas kills at least 50% of N in a snap because they are all already grouped there.

"Bonus points" he could even close to door "for safety" so nobody can escape.

It's bit like a ticking bomb in the making to give guns to teachers, they may have 1000 other more serious reasons to snap than students.

[Little stoned kiwi]

From what I've read, there won't be training if they do give teacher's guns. Which is mental.
They should be trained in safety, shooting, and the tactical situations they are expected to help in. Perhaps have the school itself issue and store guns. Including assault rifles with key staff trained to be first responders.

Or better yet, deal with the root cause and not have so many armed people prepared to kill.

[F-ZeroOne]

Asides from the rather dubious question of turning schools into small armouries, assault rifles would be a pretty bad idea, because of the risk of over-penetration (basically, bullets tend to go through things). Submachine guns would be more suitable, and I can't even believe I'm typing that in regards to a school setting!!!

[Little stoned kiwi]

What about a bell tower in every school, maned by a sniper?

[zip accident]

Why schools?

Are schools that much worse than later life in the USA?

[ThetaReactor]

Asides from the rather dubious question of turning schools into small armouries, assault rifles would be a pretty bad idea, because of the risk of over-penetration (basically, bullets tend to go through things). Submachine guns would be more suitable, and I can't even believe I'm typing that in regards to a school setting!!!

One would think. Ballistic tests often prove otherwise. Light, very fast bullets (like the 5.56 NATO most commonly used in AR-15s) have a tendency to dump all their energy in the first thing they hit, and either fragment or tumble if they reach the other side. Conversely, the slow, heavier rounds used in pistols and SMGs are more likely to retain energy after penetrating a target.

Of course, if we're gonna start curtailing Constitutional rights, I think we should take a look at the First and see about gagging the news media. Their incessant coverage of these tragedies is doing as much harm as anything else.

[gravy]

You know ownership of automatic weapons is pretty well regulated in the states under the 2nd amendment?

Semi-automatics should be treated the same. It's not a ban and there's no constitutional conflict.

That's probably worth looking at before curtailing free speech

[Harlequin]

In a strict sense, I do not think there is any constitutional conflict in banning projectile weapons outright except in cases where a well regulated militia is deemed necessary to the security of a free state.

[gravy]

That's a debate, a long one that's gone on for years without a conclusion everyone can agree on.

Variable licensing terms depending on the class of weapon already exists so need for a constitutional change.

It's all cobblers though. The argument would just move to something else because at the core of it this is about unreasoning selfishness.

There's a significant amount of people who value personal gun ownership more than societal safeness

[ThetaReactor]

There's a significant amount of people who value personal gun ownership liberty more than societal safeness.

Americans like to believe they can kick anyone's ass. Guns are part of that. We spend absolutely ludicrous sums on our military. Our creed is simple: "Fuck you, I've got a gun." It doesn't matter that most of us are too lazy and stupid to take charge of our own destinies, but goddammit if I have a gun nobody can tell me what to do. It's a weird dissonance.

[Little stoned kiwi]

What could a local militia achieve anyway? No one has more guns and training than the military, even if the populous have military training, organisation, and access to a range of military weapons.
They could resist their government but would die trying.

[Mayhem]

Don't worry, they'll simply add more guns then, you can't deny the American right to shoot yourself in the foot ...

Funny you say that, already happened...

http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/utah-teacher ... ile-school

(albeit over 3 years ago)

[Little stoned kiwi]

Don't worry, they'll simply add more guns then, you can't deny the American right to shoot yourself in the foot ...

Funny you say that, already happened...

http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/utah-teacher ... ile-school

(albeit over 3 years ago)

Jebus. The poll at the bottom says 41% of respondents think teachers should be armed.

[Deckard]

Things move on -

The owner of car rental brands like Enterprise, National, and Alamo, has announced that it will no longer provide discounts to members of the National Rifle Association. And activists on Twitter and Facebook are putting pressure on other companies to distance themselves from the gun rights organization.

Backlash against the NRA has intensified in the wake of the massacre in Parkland, Florida that killed 17 people on February 14, 2018. And while “hashtag activism” has been criticized in the past as the lazy person’s tool, brands have been uncharacteristically responsive on social media this week as calls for boycotts have gotten significantly louder.

The Twitter hashtag #BoycottNRA is aimed at companies that offer special discounts to NRA members. FedEx, for instance, offers a 26 percent discount to business class members of the gun advocacy organization. And Norton’s anti-malware brand Symantec offers steep discounts as well, slashing its premium service from $110 per year to $48.

Some of the country’s biggest rental car brands like Enterprise, Alamo, and National also offer discounts. That is, they did, until parent company Enterprise Holdings announced yesterday that it would end the discounts on March 26th.