Governor Cuomo of New York is trying to push a fairly new bill through which would allow them to be at the forefront of gun confiscation. Simply, if a teacher feels that a student is troubled, he or she petitions a judge to have all guns in the student’s home to be confiscated. Now, isn’t this the same governor who, with mayor B. de Blasio repealed the search and seizure initiative that was driving the crime rate down in New York city? (Kind of hypocritical in my book). I digress. There seems to be a disastrous cycle at hand and this is my take on it: 1. Teachers all over the U.S. already have the power to recommend medical and psychiatric care for students who, for whatever reason, are hyperactive or choose to stare out of a classroom window rather than listening to the lesson. At the present time, 11% of our students are diagnosed with ADHD and 7.4% are being treated with psychostimulants which, for the majority, was primarily recommended for testing by their teachers. On the opposing side, many students who are or have been put on psycho stimulants shouldn’t have been taking them in the first place. 2. Thus far I have not heard of any kid who was the primary source in a school shooting who wasn’t on some sort of drug meant to help out with ADD or ADHD. Now, that’s not saying that there are none but thus far I have not heard of any. 3. If Cuomo’s initiative plays out, then the teachers union will hold all of the cards. First, they recommend treatment because a student doesn’t pay attention to a teacher and then that same teacher has to power to recommend that the student’s home be searched for weapons and have them confiscated. Again, it’s a cycle and a cycle I personally do not wish someone with a mere teaching degree to have anything other than the ability to give a “head’s up” i.e. notifying the parents first then social services and / or law enforcement if the parents are remiss. (which still gives teachers some room for personal judgement) I can see that if a teacher hears or hears of a student who has exhibited a violent attitude recommending further investigation but giving them the absolute power to be the near final word is taking things way too far. About 73% of the teachers polled said they do not wish to have guns in school (armed staff) and of those there are about 35% who are anti-second amendment. If a teacher is already anti-gun, what prevents them from taking their own preferences to the next step and imposing them upon their students and the parents of those students by manipulation?
@Bobby Cole Teachers are human, exposed to more of life's little aggravations surrounding the presence of numbers of young people daily, in their chosen profession. Therefore, knowing that, would it not follow that a teacher faced with the several unruly kids to be found in each and every classroom, be inclined to single them out, perhaps unfairly, throwing those kids' parents and families into turmoil? Terrible proposition. The product of the son, I presume, of Mario Cuomo, whom I swore MUST never see the inside of the White House as an inhabitant. Frank