Behave yourselves!
And that's for the kids in the Pennsylvania schools! For that matter, all schools, for who needs unruly ragamuffins in the classroom?
But it's possibly going to be a 'new day' for some kids.
Pennsylvania lawmakers have taken another step toward allowing teachers and school employees to carry guns on
school grounds, despite a promised veto by the State governor and opposition from many school officials.
The school safety bill, as it is called, would give school boards the authority to establish policies for licensed and trained employees to carry firearms on school property. Supporters say the measure aims to give local authorities another way to combat acts of violence in schools while detractors argue that guns in the hands of teachers and other less experienced gun users could make for more dangerous teaching environments.
"Bad guys keep finding a way to get into our schools and create these tragedies," was the statement from Republican Senator Scott Martin who co-sponsored the bill. "These [armed school employees] would be able to defend themselves or end the threat before it goes rampant throughout the entire building," while his co-sponsor said that it would give "trained school personnel the opportunity to serve as first responders when time is of the essence during acts of school violence".
Opponents have said that the process to train teachers as first responders is not worth the energy or the risk as the training required would be costly and time-consuming, and even if teachers went through such training they would not be as equally prepared as a police officer in an emergency. They recommend greater funding for schools which would then allow them to hire trained security professionals or police officers if they felt the need was there for such support.
