Guns don't belong in schools, period
As a teacher, my job is teaching your children, not protecting them with a concealed weapon. Guns do not belong in schools, period. Placing police officers or – God forbid! – armed volunteers at my school entrance would not make me feel safer. A heavily-armed, mentally unstable person with an arsenal who was determined to harm others could still find a way to do so, regardless of the tightened security measures at all schools.
Rather than an armed guard at the door, we need a counselor at every school. Each of the young killers in the highly-publicized shootings of the last few years has had serious mental and emotional issues. Perhaps early identification and treatment could have prevented some of these senseless killings. At the very least, these unstable individuals should have been denied access to any and all firearms.
While I respect the rights of Americans to own guns, I agree with Rebecca Bagnall (“Ban wouldn't impact citizen's rights” Jan. 11) on the subject of assault rifles. These weapons are useless for hunting or self-defense. They serve only one purpose – to kill many people as rapidly as possible. So why does any citizen need them, and why are so many gun-owners rushing to buy them now? Heaven help us!
Cindy Rice
Yuma
