THBT teachers should not have the right to carry concealed weapons in the classroom.

I accept my opponent's altering of the definition. I will now proceed to protect my original arguments while piecing apart my opponent's arguments. CONTENTION 1 Yes, it is better to save the lives of, say, 5 children rather than none, yet it is far better to prevent the occurence of a shooting altogether. My opponent seems to almost accept the fact that there will be shootings regardless, and that all we can do is to minimize the effects. This is not true. It would be far more effective to invest into more police officers (I will expand upon this in the third contention), better security systems such as gates, and programs to help a potential shooter before the shooting actually occurs. Also, policemen nation-wide have a hit rate of about 34 percent of all bullets fired. This includes suicides among policemen. If policemen, who's entire careers revolve around enforcing laws using physical violence (if necessary), only have a 34 percent hit rate, then what will the accuracy be like of a teacher, who has little experience in an actual gun fight, is a nervous wreck, has heard shots already being fired down the hall, and is very emotionally attatched to the children she/he has suddenly been tasked to protect. If anything, the teacher might hit another student, or instigate even more shooting once the shooter come under fire. Think also of the availability of the weapon. It is unlikely that the teacher keep it on their person, because a gun holster or strap requires a blazer over it, which is highly unrealistic for hot weather. So the gun would most likely be placed in a locked drawer, which would be extremely difficult to access in the case of a shooting. I will expand upon cost issues and limited police force in the third contention. SECOND CONTENTION Given that a background check is required, many of these background checks are not effective, as my opponent admitted. "Easily near by teachers can come and shoot the out of control teacher " this is a complete logical falacy. First of all, the motion states that teachers have the right, not that it is a requirement, so not every teacher may have a gun. Also, how long does it realistically take to kill a room full of un-armed students? Too long for it to be stopped. And finally, if you did not arm teachers in the first place, this scenario would have no chance of occuring! Therefore, my opponent has in fact stated why teachers should not have guns, since they have stated a disastrous scenario in which a teacher posseses a weapon. THIRD CONTENTION I assume that there is a lack of policemen to secure the schools because of lack of funds. Yet if the guns are payed for by the individual teachers (and remember, not all will have it, for it is not required, only a right), very few will have one, for a gun, plus a concealed weapon liscence, as well as ammo and gun-checkups are very expensive relative to a teacher's generally low salary. If the govenrment is paying, then again, this will be of much cost for the govenrment, including background checks and periodical checks. These funds instead could be diverted to hiring more police officers to serve these schools, and increased security to stop the problem before it occurs, not while it already has happened. Also, if a rehabilitation program is offered in a more friendly, effective manner to the whole student body, troubled students may first consult with a counselor before any extreme measures are taken, or may be more easily identified with a more extensive, better funded program(s). Sources: I apologize for not posting the website about the gunmen, for I was reading a hard-copy of the article, and is only available for subscribers, yet a trial portion of the article is available: http://swampland.time.com... statistics about shooting ratios: http://www.nytimes.com...