US militarises schools to battle errant gunmen

America is militarizing its schools to protect school children from crazy gunmen, like the one that massacred 20 children recently.

A rural Ohio school district for instance has asked its janitors to carry handguns to school.

It was the latest to push for armed staff members in the wake of a horrific school shooting last month.

The United States has been embroiled in a debate over gun control and the best way to protect children after an armed man slaughtered 20 six- and seven-year-olds, and six staff with an assault rifle in Newtown, Connecticut.

While many people are calling for better background checks and the renewal of an expired ban on assault weapons, the National Rifle Association has led a charge among gun advocates to instead respond with armed guards at every school.

Teachers in Texas are already allowed to carry guns in some schools and the state’s lieutenant governor on Friday called for government funding to train more of them to do so.

“With the increased violence we’ve seen in public schools in recent years, we must do everything we can to protect the safety and well-being of our most precious possession — our children,” Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst said.

“I’m asking the Texas Senate to consider various school safety proposals, including providing state funds to make sure that school personnel approved by local school districts to carry concealed firearms have adequate training to protect our children and themselves.”

Meanwhile, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal on Friday said he would like his state to join 17 others in reporting the names of people with serious mental illnesses in order to help prevent guns from ending up in the wrong hands.

State law currently forbids the reporting of mental health eligibility to a federal background check system used to screen prospective gun buyers.

“Too often, both in Louisiana and in states across the nation, the mentally ill are slipping through the cracks and getting lost in the system,” said Jindal, seen as a potential Republican presidential candidate in 2016. ”

“In order to protect these individuals and the communities they reside in, it is imperative that we take proactive steps to prevent them from harming either themselves or others.”

Ohio’s Buckeye Firearms Association said more than 1,000 educators have applied for their armed teacher training program in the wake of the Newtown massacre.

In a message to parents posted on Ohio’s Montpelier school district’s webpage on Thursday, Superintendent Jamison Grime said the board decided to arm its staff in order to “substantially enhance and strengthen our security efforts.”

Acknowledging concerns that the decision was made without consulting parents, Grime noted that staff members won’t begin carrying guns until they complete a two-day course in March.

Teachers and those with direct supervision of students will not be armed.

The Toledo Blade reported this is believed to be the first school district in the state to arm staff members.

School board President Larry Martin told the paper that the janitors — all male — will buy their own guns and be paid a stipend for carrying them on the job at the district’s two schools.

Vice President Joe Biden hinted this week that the White House was looking at universal background checks for gun buyers as well as to limit the availability of high-capacity ammunition clips — either through new laws or executive orders by Obama.

On Thursday, the National Rifle Association said that Biden cared more about stamping out gun rights than protecting school children, after its representative attended a meeting with Biden.