Soon, schoolteachers in a small town in Texas may be wielding guns along with their chalk and red pens. Though Texas law does not permit the visible possession of guns on school property, a legislature-created loophole now allows those bearing concealed handgun licenses to freely transport their weapons on campus.
The New York Times reported Thursday that Harrold, a town it described somewhat disparagingly (and perhaps aptly), as a “rural hamlet” has taken advantage of that legislative loophole. As yet, it’s the only local district in the state to do, or have done, so.
Harrold School Superintendent David Thweatt virtually took it upon himself to institute a policy wherein a few (and he’s not saying which and how many) of the 24 faculty members must tote guns. He and the school have hired a private security consultant to train the pistol-packing profs.
“Country people are take-care-of-yourself people,” he told the Times, adding that “['country people'] are not under the illusion that the police are there to protect them.”
The school has no apparent history of student violence or arms-bearing. While the “rural” area may not have gang-banging problems, it may still be full of gun-carrying citizens–a fact that could actually take some of the “cool” factor and lustre off of guns and illicit weapon-wielding in the first place. But Thweatt doesn’t seem to want to take any chances.