Harrold, Tx School Officials Right On Change In Campus Gun Policy, Says Ccrkba

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Dec 19, 2006
Messages
591
Location
New York NY
NEWS RELEASE

BELLEVUE, WA – Harrold, Tex. School district trustees and Supt. David Thweatt deserve accolades for changing school policy to allow staff and teachers to carry concealed handguns to protect against school shootings, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms said today.

“When classes open August 25 in Harrold, school buildings will be safer than normal, thanks to this decision,” said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb. “Critics of the plan will argue about liability, or suggest that the school could have hired a security officer or off-duty policeman. But we all know that such officers can’t be everywhere, and in an emergency, every second counts.

Gottlieb, co-author of America Fights Back: Armed Self-Defense in a Violent Age, noted that a full chapter of the book is devoted to the folly of gun free zones, including public schools. He said such places are magnets for cowardly mass killers who have nothing to fear because the victims cannot fight back.

“Gun control extremists despise this kind of common-sense approach to the potential of school violence,” Gottlieb observed. “But the time has come to challenge their head-in-the-sand philosophy. How many lives have been lost on public school and college campuses because of these insane victim disarmament measures? How many students and teachers might be alive today if only lawmakers and school officials had acted as responsibly as the Harrold administration?”

Under this new policy, school employees who have a state-issued concealed carry permit, and permission from the school administration, may carry their guns on campus. They must be trained in crisis management and use ammunition designed to minimize ricochet inside school buildings.

“Allowing armed staff and teachers will provide a last line of defense if other security measures at the school fail,” Gottlieb said. “No doubt the school board and Mr. Thweatt will suffer some slings and arrows, but if this decision one day saves the life of even one child, it will have been worthwhile.”
 
Superintendent David Thweatt is scheduled to talk about this on Gun Talk radio, this Sunday at 1:35pm Central time.

I had a nice conversation with him this morning. Sharp guy. Understands what's going on, and "gets it" about gun free zones.
 
That's fantastic. Thanks for posting. Only one observation I would like to point out -

if this decision one day saves the life of even one child, it will have been worthwhile

That's terrible logic, and the language of our enemies. The measure isn't worthwhile because of the potential to save one child's life - it's worthwhile because it's the morally right thing to do. Victims should never be disarmed, and neither should American Citizens. The right to self-defense is a natural law and a basic bodily function of every living thing, much like eating, breathing, using the bathroom, and even reproducing, which cannot be safely or effectively delegated to another. Possessing the necessary tools to exercise that right is a logical extension and cannot be separated from the right itself.

I'm not saying protecting children isn't a good thing, but I am saying that's not the primary function of being defensively armed. It's to provide protection for any human being, whether they are a child or otherwise.
 
Last edited:
Chupacabra, I agree. That sentence at the end hit a nerve and shouldn't have been said by someone who understands that position of the other side.

It is good to save a life, but it is not good to do absolutely anything and everything to do so. A line must be drawn.
 
Thanks Picard - I think you hit the nail on the head when you say

It is good to save a life, but it is not good to do absolutely anything and everything to do so.

I couldn't have said it better myself.
 
Email him!!!!

I think we should ALL send HUGE KUDOS to Harrold Independent School District Superintendent David Thweatt. You can bet your life the gun-grabbers are hammering him by email and by phone. We need to counter the grabbers lest Sup. Thweatt be discouraged.

His email: [email protected]

Thweatt has guts, and as the Gunny said, “….guts is enough.”
 
Just sent him the following:

A“ journey of a thousand miles
must begin with a single step”
—Chinese Proverb
Thank you for taking that step.
 
About the "if it saves one child" line- while I somewhat agree that it's maybe not the best thing to say, on the other hand I think it might be exactly the right thing to say, because it usurps the claims of our opponents and uses their logic against them.

I think it's an effective weapon- but the question still remains as to whether it's the "right" reasoning to show off or not.
 
Just sent him the following:

A“ journey of a thousand miles
must begin with a single step”
—Chinese Proverb
Thank you for taking that step.

And isn't it interesting that the official motto of this school district is, "Hinc incipio intiner - Journeys Begins Here?"

See for yourself > http://harroldisd.net/

Dang, they make me proud!
 
Too bad that university administrators are scared to follow the lead...

Concealed carry by students would be perfectly legal, if written authorization is given, such as a CHL endorsement on school-issued student ID cards.

This is the exact legal reasoning used by Mr. Thweatt and the school board to allow faculty to carry. I dont see why the same logic could be extended to university students.
 
Well I hope I did not do us "wrong" by commenting on the topic on a local news website:


Rok 11:03 AM
Statistics will show what the statistician wants them to show. Look at it from this perspective: Those that have been licensed to carry firearms are simply continuing to do so observing the laws they were educated on and tested for proficiency in the first case. We trust teachers to guide the minds of our children and in so doing their lives. Education about responsible firearm safety certainly should begin at home. You are doing a disservice to your children by sheltering them from the unfortunate reality that harm can come to them at any time, anywhere. When will we owe up to this? Take a basic safety course, go with an experienced shooter to a range, enjoy yourself and enjoy this sport. If it's not for you that's fine. The knowledge (facts) gained will be worth it. This is a tool folks just as much as a car jack. I don't drive around hoping to God I get a flat just so I can use it just the same as I don't walk the streets hoping I have to "slap leather". Nothing could be further from the truth. It's all about self and situational awareness and personal safety. Find a list of school shootings and tabulate out how many were indeed caused by a student disarming a teacher to cause such tragedies, 'mmmkay?
 
There was a thread here a year or so ago with a long list of quips opposing gun control. One in particular that stuck out to me said, in essense, " If having guns meant just ONE robbery/rape/murder could be prevented, wouldn't it be worth it?" I thought that that was clever way to turn the anti's logic back on them, and I suspect that was Gottliebs' intent.
 
elChupacabra wrote:

That's fantastic. Thanks for posting. Only one observation I would like to point out -

Quote:
if this decision one day saves the life of even one child, it will have been worthwhile
That's terrible logic, and the language of our enemies.

That's EXACTLY why Alan used it. We take the language/logic of our enemies and make them eat it. It doesn't go down well.

There is nothing wrong with turning the language of your enemy against him. There is everything right about it.

The way to beat these people is to think outside the box we've built for ourselves.

It's like calling a good concealed carry statute "sensible."
It's like stating that shooting in self-defense is "reasonable."
It's like saying that teaching gun safety to a 12-year-old as part of a regular school curriculum is "responsible."
 
Hey, Dave. I had David Thweatt on the show yesterday. Having a lot of time to explain the "why" to this really helped.

I watched him on Fox & Friends this morning, and it was the usual deal where he got two questions, and then it was time to go to commercial.

If you want to hear him on yesterday's radio show, you can download it here.

http://guntalk.libsyn.com/
 
I cringed while watching Fox when the woman said "loophole" at the end... :scrutiny:

That whole end-line just reminded me of a Bradyesque sentiment "we may not be able take your guns, but we will damn sure take your bullets!" :fire: She seemed to allude to some magical wave of wand and that this school's decision is a flash in the pan... does she know something we don't?
 
Last edited:
Chron.com has 2 articles with mixed commentary.
This is claimed as a first. I know different states laws have changed and neutral policies have been curtailed to gun free and drive thru drop and pick up. So knowing Utah some are teachers and staff allowed CC in k-12 there?
 
Brady Campaign legal beagles at it again (embarrassing their law schools)

Brady Campaign already has a "legal memo" up that claims this school district is violating the state education regs. The gist of the Brady memo is that the regs say that "employed security personnel" need to be POST(police officers' standards of training)-certified, basically meaning that only currently sworn LEO's may be "employed" as security.

http://www.bradycampaign.org/media/release.php?release=999

From the Brady memo:
To provide for school security by authorizing persons to carry weapons on school property, a school district must comply with Texas Education Code § 37.081, which provides:
(a) The board of trustees of any school district may employ security personnel and may commission peace officers to carry out this subchapter. If a board of trustees authorizes a person employed as security personnel to carry a weapon, the person must be a commissioned peace officer….
***
(f) …. School district police officers shall be supervised by the chief of police of the school district or the chief of police’s designee and shall be licensed by
the Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education.
***
(h) A peace officer assigned to duty and commissioned under this section shall take and file the oath required of peace officers and shall execute and file a bond in the sum of $1,000, payable to the board of trustees, with two or more sureties, conditioned that the peace officer will fairly, impartially, and
faithfully perform all the duties that may be required of the peace officer by
law…. Any peace officer commissioned under this section must meet all
minimum standards for peace officers established by the Commission on
Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education.

It does not appear that the Harrold ISD has complied with these Education Code requirements.

But the teachers here are "employed" as teachers, not as security guards. Too bad, Brady Campaign. Try again . . .
 
^^^

Actually, the legal route the school system took to implement this was to designate the faculty members in question "school police officers", so there might be some merit to the Brady legal stuff after all.

I hope not, though. :(
 
PC w6.03. PLACES WEAPONS PROHIBITED. (a) A person commits
an offense if the person intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly possesses
or goes with a firearm, illegal knife, club, or prohibited weapon
listed in Section 46.05(a):
(1) on the physical premises of a school or educational institution,
any grounds or building on which an activity sponsored by a school or
educational institution is being conducted, or a passenger transportation
vehicle of a school or educational institution, whether the school or
educational institution is public or private, unless pursuant to written
regulations or written authorization of the institution;
Emphasis mine.
http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/ftp/forms/ls-16.pdf


Looks like someone at the BradyBunch needs to go back to school.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top