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200 Utah teachers to attend concealed gun training after Connecticut
adelaidenow.com.au ^ | December 26, 2012

Posted on 12/26/2012 9:52:03 PM PST by Tailgunner Joe

MORE than 200 Utah teachers are expected to head to a meeting tomorrow to undergo six hours of concealed-weapons training as organisers seek to arm more educators in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook Connecticut school shooting.

Utah Shooting Sports Council said it normally has a dozen teachers annually for instruction required to legally carry a concealed weapon in public places. The state's leading gun lobby decided to offer teachers the training at no charge to encourage turnout after the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre.

Organisers who initially capped attendance at 200 were exceeding that number by today and scrambling to accommodate an overflow crowd.

Utah is one of two US states - Kansas being the other - that allows individuals with concealed weapons permits to carry their guns in a school.

"Schools are some of the safest places in the world, but I think teachers understand that something has changed - the sanctity of schools has changed," said leading gun instructor Clark Aposhian, Utah Sports Council.

"Mass shootings may still be rare, but that doesn't help you when the monster comes in."

Gun-rights advocates say teachers can act more quickly than law enforcement in the critical first few minutes to protect children from the kind of shooting that left 20 children and six adults dead on December 14 at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.

In Arizona, Attorney General Tom Horne has proposed amending state law to allow one educator in each school to carry a gun. Educators say Utah legislators left them with no choice but to accept some guns in schools. State law forbids schools, districts or college campuses from trying to impose their own gun restrictions.

"We're not suggesting that teachers roam the halls for a monster," said Aposhian. "They should lock down the classroom. But a gun is one more option if the shooter comes in."

A major emphasis of the required safety training is that people facing deadly threats should announce they have a gun and retreat or take cover before trying to shoot, he said.

Utah lets people carry licensed concealed weapons into public schools without exception, the National Conference of State Legislatures says in a 2012 compendium of state gun laws.

Utah educators say they would ban guns if they could and have no way of knowing how many teachers are armed.

"It's a terrible idea," said Carol Lear, a chief lawyer for the Utah Office of Education, who argues teachers could be overpowered for their guns or misfire or cause an accidental shooting. "It's a horrible, terrible, no-good, rotten idea."


TOPICS: US: Utah
KEYWORDS: banglist; guncontrol; secondamendment

1 posted on 12/26/2012 9:52:11 PM PST by Tailgunner Joe
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To: Tailgunner Joe

bkmk


2 posted on 12/26/2012 10:13:35 PM PST by Sergio (An object at rest cannot be stopped! - The Evil Midnight Bomber What Bombs at Midnight)
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To: Tailgunner Joe

Good.


3 posted on 12/26/2012 10:14:26 PM PST by Nachum (The List is off the Google blacklist- www.nachumlist.com)
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To: Tailgunner Joe
"It's a terrible idea," said Carol Lear, a chief lawyer for the Utah Office of Education, who argues teachers could be overpowered for their guns or misfire or cause an accidental shooting. "It's a horrible, terrible, no-good, rotten idea."

Plagiarism!

I grew up in Utah. Living in a (newly) Blue state now, I miss my hometown sometimes.

4 posted on 12/27/2012 12:21:18 AM PST by Washi (Socialism is Slavery)
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To: Tailgunner Joe

>> Utah is one of two US states ... that allows individuals with concealed weapons permits to carry their guns in a school.

Attention Utah nut-boy would-be assassins: Utah does prohibit carry in an LDS church. /s


5 posted on 12/27/2012 1:16:07 AM PST by QBFimi (When gunpowder speaks, beasts listen.)
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To: QBFimi
"It's a terrible idea," said Carol Lear, a chief lawyer for the Utah Office of Education, who argues teachers could be overpowered for their guns or misfire or cause an accidental shooting. "It's a horrible, terrible, no-good, rotten idea."

Dear Carol, I doubt you have the slightest idea about how a weapon is used in the hands of someone who is trained. Overpowered? Really?!! What an idiot.

I suppose a teacher could also get hit on the head by a piece of satellite from outer space, for that matter.

6 posted on 12/27/2012 2:51:00 AM PST by Northern Yankee (Where Liberty dwells, there is my Country. - Benjamin Franklin)
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To: Northern Yankee

Would rather have a chance to survive than no chance!


7 posted on 12/27/2012 5:08:34 AM PST by Boomer One
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To: Northern Yankee

Would rather have a chance to survive than no chance!


8 posted on 12/27/2012 5:08:42 AM PST by Boomer One
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To: Tailgunner Joe
One of the organizers is David Burnell, owner of OPSGEAR, a good guy.
9 posted on 12/27/2012 9:44:46 AM PST by frankenMonkey
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To: Boomer One

Amen to that!


10 posted on 12/27/2012 6:32:43 PM PST by Northern Yankee (Where Liberty dwells, there is my Country. - Benjamin Franklin)
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To: Tailgunner Joe
From the article: "... people facing deadly threats should announce they have a gun and retreat or take cover before trying to shoot, he said."

Brilliant.

"Hey, you there with the rifle! I've got a gun and if you don't stop killing those five-year-olds this instant, I'm going to fire!"

Where do they come up with this nonsense? ... Oh, I know. HOLLYWOOD !!!

11 posted on 12/28/2012 12:22:49 AM PST by William Tell
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