yes it was in florida and no its not some sort of experiment. teachers and other people too have been carrying guns and other weapons for quite some time. it all depends upon whether the state you are living in has laws on concealed weapons, and whether the teachers or others have their permits/ gun licences.

its just becoming more open discussion due to the increase in school shootings / school violence. like people never used to talk about mental disorders or child abuse or domestic violence but now they do because its so prominent and part of daily life now.

school violence is on the rise so its an issue that is now being discussed.

my own opinion is that when you look at the history of guns you see that even way back in pioneer days people including teachers carried their guns to school. they just didnt wave them around shooting everyone at the least bit of anger or problem. teachers having guns in schools also are nothing new in bigger cities. here in NYC many teachers have been armed for decades. they just didnt wave them around or keep them out in the open or even let people know they had it. no not to keep it a secret but for safety reasons. tell a child you have a gun and whats the first thing they ask.. can I see it, can I hold it, where is it....

my own opinion is times have changed. there once was a time when guns were just part of life and children watched as their parents cleaned their guns,, made or bought the bullets and understood guns were not toys, were not to be used in anger and so on. but then as times changed there was no need to educate children because we dont .......have.... to go out and shoot our own meals now, provide for our families now. guns have turned from a necessity to an enjoyment of sports and seasonal usage, children just not taught about gun safety any more. unfortunately those in florida ended up learning guns are not for children and can harm and kill the hard way. no not blaming them, them the blame is on the shooter. bot part of me wonders if the shooter would have grabbed the gun say 100 years ago when parents were more diligent on teaching their children about guns, safety and the harm that it can do. Part of me wonders whether the shooter really mentally understood what he was doing. no not making the insanity defense, just that in the heat of the moment sometimes all logic and reason just flies out the window ( how many of us have said and done things that we now regret but it was said and done in the heat of the moment) for some reason that we may never know this person used a gun to harm others. how much of that was because he was having his own problems....

so many questions this leads into for me...

and a main one on peoples minds here where I am is will teachers being honest about having their guns in school be better or harmful, even teachers loose it, by that I mean on cnn there was a news report of a teacher who in the last few days baricaded himself in a classroom and fired his gun, not at anyone, he had locked the students and staff out of the room when he did it. possibly a suicide attempt.

I know my childrens teachers all have handguns and have for years brought their guns to school for their own protection (sorry folks a female teacher in NYC walking out of a city school to her car alone or with a co worker is not safe thing to do without having something to protect you be it mace, object or a weapon. its not something you do in cities like NYC,)

my point I like to think that I know my childrens teachers well enough to say hey they wont crack like the guy on the news but you know theres no way to really know for sure.

on some things you just have to have trust and also educate the children. we cant keep our children wrapped in a bubble and if a teacher has a gun and can prevent some shooter from taking out my children Im for it.