Arming teachers is not the answer

Editor:

Tonight I watched in astonishment as my President advocated arming teachers to protect students from the kinds of massacres becoming more and more frequent. Incredulously, some people agree with him.

Have they considered:

1. A gunman knows he must have and plans for the element of surprise.

2. A gunman knows that no teacher can be watching their students and … watching out for him everywhere and all of the time.

3. A gunman knows most teachers will not be armed, even fewer as expert a gunman as he.

4. A gunman knows his odds of success are highest at the onset and diminishes from there.

5. A gunman knows he only needs seconds to kill as many as possible to achieve his end.

6. A gunman (if so inclined) knows he’s on and plans for, a suicide mission – armed security guards, teachers or anyone else will not deter him. He will just develop a better plan which will simply add to his warped “glory” of going down in a firefight.

What’s next? Armed nurses in the maternity ward? Armed umpires at little league games? Armed clowns at the circus? Armed clarinetists at the orchestra? Armed grocery clerks at the bar scanner? Armed waiters and bartenders? Is this really the society we want?

How free is a society held captive by fear?

I don’t know.  But I know crazy when I see it.

Tom Graham

Rochester