Notion of arming teachers is absurd

I am deeply concerned about the possibility of legislation being introduced in Harrisburg that would require some teachers to carry guns in school. I would like you to consider my thoughts and ask your state representatives in Harrisburg to reject any attempt to proceed with legislation that would require teachers to be armed. The idea that arming teachers , no matter how well trained, is a solution to preventing school shootings is absurd for a number of reasons.

First, let me suggest that proponents of this idea research all the mass shootings that have taken place, not only in schools but in churches, shopping malls and concert venues.

The first sign that a mass shooting is occurring is after shots are fired, and, in almost all cases, that means innocent people are already dead. In a school there may be a teacher in the classroom acting as a Good Guy with a gun and he or she may actually see the shooting, but by that time at least one innocent person will have already been shot.

All the teacher can do then is engage in a gun fight with the bad guy with a gun. Secondly, the potential for an accident or theft are very real. Some suggest that if teachers are armed they should lock their guns in a closet or a drawer to prevent accidents or theft from happening. Locking up guns will help solve both of those problems, but it will only lead to more deaths in the case of a mass shooting.

If a teacher, a custodian or an administrator has to spend time unlocking a closet or a drawer to get a gun, that is more time for the shooter to kill more innocent people, particularly if he is using an assault weapon. That brings me to a third reason for teachers not to be armed. Mass shootings are done with assault rifles.

If a teacher with a handgun engages the shooter with an assault weapon, he or she is at a terrible disadvantage, and students will be greater danger with bullets flying in all directions. I can’t imagine the grief of a teacher who might accidentally injure or even kill student.

Schools are places for children to learn and teachers to teach. Places where there are book and computers, science labs, choral concerts, school plays and athletic competitions. They should not be armed camps.

Schools should have security guards. They have provided and will continue to provide a degree of safety. We also need universal background checks for gun purchases and more mental health services; however, the federal budget that was just passed cuts funding for mental health services. That has to be corrected.

There is only one sure way to prevent an innocent person from being murdered in schools with guns and that is to do everything possible to keep guns out of the schools, not putting more guns in schools.

I am a gun owner and a hunter. No one is suggesting that my hunting rifles should be taken away from me, and I certainly don’t need an assault weapon for hunting.

As a former teacher, high school principal and superintendent of schools, as well as a gun owner and hunter, the thought of arming teachers is not only absurd, it’s dangerous.

Daniel Jones Downingtown

Address climate change

Donald Trump thinks he has ended “the war on beautiful Clean Coal.”

But instead: “Trump bid to boost coal, nuclear power rejected.” (Reading Eagle 1/9).

This was a decision by the Republican-controlled Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that stated there is no evidence that retirements of coal-fired power plants pose a threat to reliability of the nation’s electric grid.

As a member of the Climate Solutions Caucus, Rep. Ryan Costello has an opportunity to make a difference to prevent a climate crisis and reduce this Administration’s assault on our environmental safeguards.

On Tuesday, February 13, a group of his constituents, along with PennEnvironment rallied at his office to #BeOurClimateSweetheart this Valentine’s Day

They urged a serious commitment to push for real climate solutions.

We are asking Rep. Costello to oppose future environmental attacks while actively working to find ways to address climate change.

Let’s not wait until the tipping point to act.

“The latest models show that with very rapid cuts in emissions, Antarctic ice might remain largely intact for centuries; without them, we might see 11 feet of sea-level rise by century’s end…” (Bill McKibben, Winning Slowly Is the Same as Losing).

Let’s hold Rep. Costello accountable.

Mary Ann Mack Phoenixville