Governor Rick Snyder of Michigan vetoed a bill that would have allowed guns in schools.
His reason was that the bill did not have a provision allowing schools to opt out if they didn’t want guns in their buildings.
Presumably the next legislature, if so inclined, could make that fix. Let’s hope not. Guns don’t belong in schools.
As I pointed out in an earlier post, school personnel should not be expected to carry weaponry to match the arsenal that was carried into Sandy Hook Elementary School by the shooter in Newtown.
Guns don’t belong in schools. They belong only in the hands of law officers.
The national and state leadership of the American Federation of Teachers had urged Snyder to veto.
This is a piece of good news.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Good news, indeed, Diane. We need common sense gun control reform and not knee-jerk reactions. As a parent, I would NOT want guns at my child’s school.
LikeLike
Great news Diane. Now if the Virginia governor would find some common sense too. He said maybe it was time for principals and teachers to have guns in schools. When asked if a policeman should be in every school, he said, no, children don’t want to see a policeman with a gun in schools.
I kid you not.
LikeLike
Hope the national PTA takes a stand on this, if they have not already.
LikeLike
Good that he vetoed this, better that he said something along the lines of “This is crazy legislation, even if an opt-out is provided, and I will veto this again and again until they stop sending it to me.”
BTW, Snyder’s approval dropped 28 points since he signed the right-to-work legislation into law. Also, Republicans in the legislature enjoy a 31% approval rating after their lame duck session work. Finally, 41% of voters approve of the right-to-work law, 51% disapprove.
Maybe in two years, some new politicians can undo the damaging work done by the lame duck legislature and the very unpopular Snyder:
http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/main/2012/12/snyders-popularity-plummets.html
LikeLike
If he had signed that the Republicans would def. have been swept out in 2014.
LikeLike
This action by the Govenor was truly a No-Brainer.
That it was ever even considered for legislation shows an enormous collective cranial vacuum.
LikeLike
REALLY??? Give me a break… they don’t trust me to plan my curricula or assess my own students… but now they trust me to be armed? No no no…
LikeLike
This made me chuckle. Good point!
LikeLike
Great point!!
LikeLike
Diane,
Please read when you have time..written by a former CT Teacher of the year:
Sandy Hook teachers’ inspiring values:
http://www.courant.com/news/opinion/hc-op-bosso-sandy-hook-teachers-inspiring-values-1-20121217,0,6439351.story
LikeLike
As a teacher, I don’t want to carry a gun in a school. I have nothing against guns, I believe that people kill people (although guns certainly make it easier, and I do wish there was more gun control than there is currently). However, if I am in school as a teacher, that is my job. If, God forbid, someone comes in, I don’t want to be the person that has to leave my class by themselves, to go try to take someone else down. I want to be with my class trying to keep them safe. That’s my job. My job is not to be the cop on campus. Let’s leave that to the professional law enforcement.
LikeLike
As a teacher, I am torn about this. If there are already so many guns out there, why am I not allowed to defend myself or my students? Keeping guns out of schools simply allows these “people” to come in and gun down people like fish in a barrel. This is not acceptable. It is too late to get rid of guns, so we should think about “defense.” The principal, the deans and security guards should be armed and trained. Perhaps a few teachers could volunteer to be trained and keep guns in a locked safes in their rooms. I may be having a Republican moment here, but we teachers should be able to defend ourselves and our students. By the time the police arrive, everyone is already dead. We need to think realistically about this. Maybe it has to be like the Wild West, unfortunately. The assault gun ban is meaningless because most of these things happen with a Glock pistol. It’s time to live in reality and allow teachers (those who are able) to defend our students if the need arises. Telling teachers to hide and hope the person doesn’t come into the classroom is not good enough. As a man, I find that offensive, and would much rather go out fighting than cowering under a desk like a coward. Am I supposed to attack a gunman with a chair or a stapler? Think about it. We all have the human right to defend ourselves, and I think teachers will start to demand the right to bear arms in the classrooms. They do this in Israel, don’t they? Of course we should get rid of assault weapons….We will have to be protectors of the students we teach. Sadly, this will be just another job given to teachers.
LikeLike
Well as posted by another reader on a different thread if we are not capable enough to plan lesson, guide our children and improve test scores, how can we be trusted to shoot a gun and kill people? Even during the recent shooting in NYC by the Empire State Building the trained policemen hit innocent civilians trying to take down one guy.
When in doubt, dump it on a teacher and when in doubt, blame a teacher. That is the nation’s new motto.
LikeLike
Linda,
A handgun would not be enough. Teachers and principals would need to have the same weaponry as potential intruders. The library could be turned into an arsenal.
Diane
LikeLike
I just heard Arne will be coming to Dawn’s services tomorrow night. I am going to be sick. Can I ask him to leave?
LikeLike
I am sorry to be commenting so much, but I was sad and now I am angry (furious) about this. I have kids the same age, and I have been sick to my stomach all weekend. I feel a mixture of great empathy and great anger about all this. Men transfer their sadness into anger, right? More counseling and a ban on guns is just not enough for me.
LikeLike
If you knew our American History you would remember that the US marshals made those gun toting cowboys check their guns before entering town. This was to prevent all the shoot outs often depicted in westerns.
I can see it now during parent conferences, an angry parent pulling out a gun and offing the teacher who dared to say that little Johnny is not behaving well. Guns do not belong in schools. Using your logic all public places are soft targets and we all should have guns to defend ourselves. How about we dig a little deeper and deal with the rage that leads to massacres.
LikeLike
Johnny Cash had it right – “Don’t Take Your Guns To Town”
LikeLike
I understand your desire to be able to fight back but I can’t help but believe that having guns at a school would pose a heck of a liability for a school. It just seems that there would be way too many issues that could arise. The killer took a battlefield type of weapon into the school with devastating bullets. He was on a suicide mission and didn’t care about any weapon that might be in the school. I just think guns in the schools would create more problems. Not really solve any.
LikeLike
Not to forget that he was wearing Kevlar. Would, then, all school personnel and students wear Kevlar every day?
LikeLike
Well the teachers would have to be trained, certified, and volunteer. My wife couldn’t do it. She would hesitate….I know that having guns in school seems harsh, but we already have a full-time policeman, but one person is not enough. We just can’t force our children into a confined space and then have no one able to protect them. Those days are over! I will demand that my son’s elementary school has armed guards at all times, and I am not alone. This is in the works already. There will be policemen in every elementary, middle and high school now where the districts have money. Why are armed guards in our banks and not in our schools? What is more important? Think about it. Forget the “guns are bad” knee-jerk reaction and think “realistically” how to solve this problem and protect our children. You can’t just lock a door or close a window or tell everyone to hide. You can’t wait for the police to arrive. Let the teachers who feel that they are able to defend their students do so.
LikeLike
So I have to get all the kids (25-30) in a safe place in my room, lock my door, find my gun that is probably in a locked box in a locked closet, get ready to aim and shoot. Hmmmm..I think we would all be dead by then.
LikeLike
Alan,
I have to wonder what sort of training would be required in order for a non-military/police person to be able to accurately shoot in a high-pressure situation. Success on a shooting range does not equal the ability to shoot another person who is probably shooting at you, who likely doesn’t care about living through the situation, and all this while NOT hitting any innocent by-standers. And you’re now adding another layer of confusion when the police arrive-which person with a gun is the assailant?
LikeLike
You can’t catch every nut. Human psychology is complex…How do you know who is dangerous and who is just “quiet”? That is not a viable plan… There will always be freaks and psychopaths. They have been with us through recorded history. Have you ever read about World War 2? We have to be prepared like we do for fires, or hurricanes, etc. I feel better we have an armed cop on the grounds at all times. Don’t you? More counseling and a ban on certain weapons sound good, but they are just “fluff” and will do nothing to account for every lunatic or sociopath in the country (and there are many). We have 300 million + people in this country. How many crazy people? We have more than 300 million guns floating around. We also have a demented culture glorifying violence, etc. Think about it. You can’t close Pandora’s Box. Liberals have to re-think their stance on realistic defense.
LikeLike
I think people would rather keep their schools as a place of love and learning. We are giving into the violent mentality if we start arming schools. This has all gone too far because politicians haven’t had the guts to take measures to stop this nonsense. It has all gone too far. The killer’s mother allowed a battlefield type weapon into her house. This condoned a violent view of the world. Is it no surprise her son embraced the same view?
LikeLike
I think Snyder got scared and that is why he did not sign it.
LikeLike
I agree with you, George. he feared negative public opinion. Which–if he was ever desiring running for national office–would have ruined all of his political aspirations.
LikeLike
I signed a petition to ask Gov. Snyder of MI to veto SB59. I got a puzzling letter explaining why he did veto the proposed legislation. The bill would have fixed (in his mind) the current open carry law by prohibiting open carry in pistol-free zones. Excuse me, but doesn’t pistol-free imply no concealed or open carry allowed? The bill would also have been good (in his mind) because it would have allowed concealed carry in those pistol-free zones if approved by either private or public owners. He then says he vetoed it because the bill actually would not have allowed certain public owners to prohibit concealed carry. He wrote, “Unfortunately, the bill did not allow public schools, day care centers, or public hospitals to prohibit persons from carrying concealed weapons on their premises. For that reason, I have vetoed Senate Bill 59.
I believe it is important that these public institutions have clear legal authority to ban weapons from their premises: Each is entrusted with the care of a vulnerable population and should have the authority to determine whether its mission would be enhanced by the addition of concealed weapons.” IT SEEMS TO ME YOU ARE EITHER FOR OR AGAINST PISTOL-FREE ZONES and his logic totally eludes me. Each school should get to decide if they allow concealed carry? Are you freaking kidding me?
LikeLike