Pistol Packing Teacher

An Oregon school teacher wants to exercise her 2nd Amendment right to carry a firearm to her job:

MEDFORD, Ore. - English teacher Shirley Katz insists she needs to take her pistol with her to school because she fears her ex-husband could show up and try to harm her. She's also worried about a Columbine-style attack.

But Katz's district has barred teachers from bringing guns to school, so she is challenging the ban as unlawful, since Oregon is among states that allow people with a permit to carry concealed weapons into public buildings.

"This is primarily about my Second Amendment right and Oregon law and the simple fact that I know it is my right to carry that gun," said Katz, 44, sitting at the kitchen table of her home outside this city of 74,000.

"I have that (concealed weapons) permit. I refuse to let my ex-husband bully me. And I am not going to let the school board bully me, either." ...

School Superintendent Phil Long insists employees and students are safer without guns on campus. The district plans to make that argument when the case comes before a judge on Thursday.

The Superintendent is wrong. Students are safer when there's someone on campus with the ability to fight back against those who would victimize students or staff. Every single school shooting has been stopped by someone with a gun, either law enforcement or in some cases faculty members. In one memorable case an Assistant Principle ran 1000 feet to his car, retrieved a weapon, and then returned to the school to confront the shooter and end by assault. He had to run 1000 feet because of the silly laws which ban guns from coming within 1000 feet of a school.

I think the teacher has a good chance of winning this case, and that will have repercussions all over the country. There simply is no compelling reason to ban a licensed permit holder from carrying her weapon wherever she wants to.