Schools Warn Staff May be Armed

One Tulsa, Okla.-area school district has a very odd way of deterring violence: Signs which alert visitors that staff may be armed and licensed to use necessary force.

Okay Public Schools Superintendent Charles McMahan says having a sign saying "this is a gun-free zone" practically invites outlaws who feel occupants can defend themselves. He also says signs warning that staff members may be armed are a follow-up to a school gun policy approved by the board. The hope is that anyone who'd even consider carrying on a criminally violent act will take their actions elsewhere.

But in this day and age when teachers and students are sometimes violent towards each other and when teachers perform sexual acts with students, is allowing them to be armed a smart move? Who's to say the teacher won't become enraged with a disruptive student and "lose his cool?"

What do you feel about this? Would you welcome teachers being allowed to carry firearms into the classroom, or would this be a concern to you?