Gun laws vs. arming teachers

Re “Schools chief calls out Trump,” March 9

I have heard and read lots of discussion about teachers being allowed to carry a concealed firearm on campus after being properly trained.

The goal of arming “some” teachers is not to make them the primary security for their students, but rather the “backup” plan when law enforcement falls short, as was the case in the recent Florida school shooting.

We already have armed police and plainclothes officers around our children at concerts, shopping malls and colleges. What makes our K-12 schools any different? If police officers can be trained to handle firearms properly, then so can those teachers who are willing, capable and not afraid to be “that person.”

Passing more gun laws will not provide our children with a strong response to those unwilling to obey our laws, nor will it make the 320 million-plus guns in circulation miraculously disappear.

Our children’s safety at school must be more important than our political views on guns or our fear of them.

Rod Guyton Torrance

Let’s arm teachers! This may have prevented the mass killings at a theater in Aurora, Colo., or a workplace in San Bernardino.

One advantage is that most teachers are available during the summer break and could freelance as security guards at hotels in Las Vegas or churches in Texas.

Alternatively, Congress could just realize that the mass killings in this country are due to the easy availability of assault weapons, and take action to prevent their sales. The only conceivable use of an AR-15 is to kill a maximum number of people in the shortest possible time.

Betty C. Duckman Long Beach