Pearl, Miss.; West Paducah, Ky.; Jonesboro, Ark.; Edinboro, Penn.; Springfield, Ore.; Salt Lake City; Littleton, Colo. In the wake of each of these tragic shootings, the idea of restricting legally carried concealed weapons from schools and churches, has been proposed.
However, not one of these crimes was perpetrated by a concealed carry permit holder. Do fewer guns mean less crime? No. In each of these attacks the police brought in more guns to stop the killings. Unfortunately, it took too long to get more guns to the crime scenes. If teachers or library patrons who were legally armed had been on the scene, they could have prevented these tragedies or reduced the number of victims. In Pearl, Miss., one teacher managed to retrieve a gun from his car and stop the perpetrator.No one is advocating that teachers and principles be required to be armed, but they should be allowed to have the option. Why not? Don't we trust our teachers? Do we think that they cannot be level-headed, judicious or trained? Why should we expect a teacher to react less professionally or sanely than a security guard? Criminals admit that "not knowing who is armed" is a significant deterrent to crime.
We should never enact laws that are designed to guarantee that select groups of potential victims are identified as unarmed and defenseless. Is it our intent to make our students and citizens easier prey? Would you post a "Gun-Free Home" sign on your front door?
Banning legally carried guns from schools and churches will enable more crimes than it could ever prevent. Allowing legally carried guns into schools and churches will deter many future shootings and will reduce the number of victims if it happens again.
C. Lemar Luke
Layton