Of course, some reporters have connected (some of) the dots. The liberal Texas Observer, for one, did recently make the point that day-to-day gun violence takes more lives than high profile-rampages. And when the governor said he favored improved mental health service to head off mass shootings, Dallas Morning News reporter Robert Garrett pointed out that Texas ranks 49th out of 50 states in spending on mental health care. But a Feb. 2 article in the Austin American-Statesman discusses ways in which proposed regulations could fall short in stopping mass killings, without noting, again, that most firearm deaths do not result from high-profile rampages. In San Antonio, the Express-News has editorialized against arming teachers as just a bad idea, but its news coverage is similar to the rest.
Editors and reporters need to see beyond the narrow gun debate as defined by what legislators say on any given day or propose in Austin, and ask big-picture, common sense questions. There’s a lot of ground to cover, but on the particular subject of the guns-for-teachers proposals, these questions include: How safe are schools, really, as a place to put weapons? Are teachers really qualified to defend 30 people? How do you safeguard guns on campus from a few bad apples? Why not hire more cops? Is the teacher screening program working well if some districts are not compliant? Is the Legislature overlooking obvious concerns or inconvenient data?
Or how about this one: Teachers with guns. Really?
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"Or how about this one: Teachers with guns. Really?"
Actually the simpler response to this whole discussion about needing more guns to stop gun violence is "Are you insane?"
I wonder what Wyatt Earp would say - as I recall, he didn't deal with the problem of gun violence in Tombstone AZ by pushing for more guns. But then, old Wyatt kind of knew his way around guns, and wasn't blindly stupid.
#1 Posted by JohnR, CJR on Mon 18 Feb 2013 at 12:32 PM
So, is this part of Biden's push for the "legitimate news media" to parrot the administrations line on gun control?
#2 Posted by Mike H, CJR on Mon 18 Feb 2013 at 03:40 PM
So what? Why do you care what we do in our state? Maybe you should look at Chicago gun violence and their gun laws instead of using the old let's look at the wild west bullshit again. Get real.
#3 Posted by Bill, CJR on Tue 19 Feb 2013 at 12:21 PM
Let's see what your objections are about ... you don't like any factual reporting without the liberal biased "analysis?" Your entire article was an extremely biased liberal piece of garbage.
Felons cannot own a weapon, much less have a concealed permit. Look at ANY large business and you will find people with criminal records. Those criminal records will keep most of them from ever getting a CHL.
Go back to your liberal northeast.
#4 Posted by Robert R, CJR on Tue 19 Feb 2013 at 01:24 PM
So out of 324,213 teachers, some 1,300 teachers have lost or surrendered their teaching licenses, or been suspended or reprimanded. That's .4%. Clearly, those people would probably not even qualify for a concealed handgun license. And let's just be clear that NO ONE is advocating that every teacher be armed, and certainly no that .4%.
Let's talk about that January "poll" of Texas residents favoring a ban on something referred to as "assault weapons." I looked at the opinion survey; the term "assault weapon" is not even defined. Know why? Because it's not a technical term from the firearms lexicon. Rather, it's a bogus made-up propaganda term (like "gateway drugs") that has absolutely no fixed meaning. Someone should conduct a survey of Texas public opinion regarding the question: "Should law-abiding American adult citizens have the right to keep and bear homeland defense rifles?" Yeah, I know, the term "homeland defense rifle" is just as much a propaganda term as "assault weapon," and that's precisely my point.
In a sane world, one would expect reporters to use objective, neutral language in their straight news reporting.
#5 Posted by BillMiller, CJR on Tue 19 Feb 2013 at 01:57 PM
More guns mean more deaths. Deny that if you will, but it's a fact.
If Texans want more of both, I say have at it. I'll just include it in third world places to be avoided when I plan future vacations and business trips.
#6 Posted by D Paul, CJR on Wed 20 Feb 2013 at 11:00 AM