Guns belong in duck blinds, not biology labs
By Richard Simak
Generations of my family have been gun owners and hunters. My uncles, in fact, encouraged me to buy my first handgun to accompany them in competitions. They are no longer alive, but I still enjoy shooting in my retirement, including on Wednesdays at the club I belong to.
I’m an avid hunter and a longtime member of Ducks Unlimited, the Genesee Conservation Council and the National Rifle Association. I love being in the great outdoors — it has taught me a love of the land, respect for the cycle of life, and made me a steward for our environment and natural resources.
My other passion in life has been teaching. For 37 years, I was a biology teacher and helped bring a love of learning about life and the scientific method to so many students during my career.
Based on this lifelong experience as a hunter, gun owner and teacher, I can tell you this: Guns belong in a duck blind, in the field hunting turkey or birds with my dog, or in the woods hunting deer — but not in a biology lab. That is why I, a longtime responsible gun owner, am wholeheartedly against President Trump’s and the NRA’s proposal to arm teachers.
Based on my lifelong experience as a hunter, gun owner and teacher, I can tell you this: Guns belong in a duck blind, in the field hunting turkey or birds with my dog, or in the woods hunting deer — but not in a biology lab.
I can’t imagine carrying my 9 mm or .45 caliber pistol on my belt. How would I conceal it, or not? Maybe just wear it on a belt like a patrol officer. After carrying on my internal monologue on this subject, I began to think about what kind of responsibility a teacher would have with a concealed weapon.
Could I run toward a shooter with a 30-round magazine firing an AR-15 with a 10-round pistol? Could I actually fire a weapon at an individual? Would I shoot to wound or to kill? What if I miss and the round ricochets off a wall or the floor, or shatters and goes through a classroom window and injures or kills a student or teacher?
Let’s face it: Bullets do shatter, and sometimes bystanders are injured or killed during police shootouts. Why couldn’t it happen in a school? School is a place of learning. Teachers teach. They are not security guards, police officers or combat personnel regardless of training.
In my opinion, what we need is increased funding for more school counselors. The number of students that counselors are responsible for is formidable. School psychologists are a must to treat the myriad problems that kids are facing today. Dollars are what schools need. Most teachers recognize a student who is in need of counseling. They can tell when a student is “off,” regardless of the reason. As teachers, we can tell if a student is disturbed, whether at the elementary level or in high school.
I can recall a student I had who listened to a story I told in class about a course I took in graduate school. It was about doing study skins and identifying species by the skull or number of teeth. The next day, that student came in after school with an adult male mallard duck he had shot with a .22-caliber rifle; he wanted me to stuff it for him. The duck was out of season; the student had no license, and I wondered where he got the rifle. Needless to say, I had some serious concerns about this student and had to report the incident to his parents and guidance counselor.
School is a place of learning. Teachers teach. They are not security guards, police officers or combat personnel regardless of training.
I had another student who was diagnosed with schizophrenia. I knew something was up with him on the first day of class. I remained in contact with that boy’s parents throughout the year until finally, after two years in a regular classroom, this boy got the help he so desperately needed. He later went on to junior college and visited me with his mom. He got help — but after two years? Simply unacceptable! Could he have gotten his hands on a weapon? He didn’t, but others obviously have.
We have seen the damage and the heartache caused by school shootings too many times. Enough is enough. I am a member of the NRA, and I don’t have to agree with everything they say about gun control or the lack of it. I love my guns, and I love to shoot, so I don’t want anyone messing with my Second Amendment right to bear arms.
I do think, however, that commonsense gun control is a must. We as Americans should be telling our representatives in Washington to compromise. Pass a commonsense gun control law. Create a bill that will keep guns out of the hands of disturbed individuals. Impose stricter background checks for all gun purchases. The age for the purchase of assault weapons should be 21.
Both parties don’t have to agree on everything, but find the middle ground. Stop the deadlock and do something positive.
I don’t think banning guns in our current political climate can happen. Stop with hardline politics at each end of the spectrum. This country was built on a system of checks and balances. Both parties don’t have to agree on everything, but find the middle ground. Stop the deadlock and do something positive.
Provide extra funding for smaller class sizes so teachers can find the time to engage with students on a one-to-one basis. That’s tough to do when you have 30 kids in a biology lab. Provide the funding to hire more school counselors, school nurses and professionally trained individuals for sure — not teachers — to carry arms in schools. Have patrol officers stop at schools as they make their rounds in the community. Now is the time to talk and do something to protect our schools and students.
Richard Simak is an AFT Retirees member who taught biology for 37 years in upstate New York. He is a hunter, gun owner, and member of Ducks Unlimited and the National Rifle Association.
Looking for educational resources on the issue of gun violence in the United States? AFT’s Share My Lesson has a curated collection of free K-12 resources for educators, school staff, and community members, including a webinar on what your community can do to end school gun violence:
