In An Age of Lost Innocence, Should Naches Arm Its Schoolteachers? [POLL]

Growing up in the quiet, sleepy little town of Naches was much like the TV show "Mayberry." You could walk to the park or stay out until dark playing with your friends until your mom had to literally call you home by yelling your name from the front porch steps.

That was over 20 years ago, and although the town of Naches hasn't changed much, the world around it certainly has ... which has led the Naches Valley School District to consider arming teachers with handguns. The district hosted a forum on the subject Monday night.

There are several key reasons why the school district is considering arming teachers, but one of the main reasons is that Naches is a rural area with emergency response time taking upwards of 20 minutes or more.

As a parent with kids who attend Naches schools, I'm conflicted, partly because of the loss of innocence that it represents. The small, sleepy once-safe town has to face what the rest of the world has been confronted with.

I remember the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre of 2012 -- my little Shaylee was in first grade, the same age of some of those precious kids whose lives were taken. Her classroom was right next to the office and this worried me to the point of losing sleep thinking thoughts like "What if something horrible like that happened at our school? How do I talk to my younger kids without scaring them, but educating them on what to do?"

Monday night's talk was just the start of the arming-teachers-with-handguns decision. A lot more discussion is sure to follow.

Do you think Naches teachers should carry weapons? Weigh in here: