1.29.2015

A Story That Is Not A Story


I've seen this story popping up in places today and some people are expressing shock. A Texas lawmaker has proposed a bill that would allow teachers to use deadly force in self defense against students. And the bigger headline is that the bill allows deadly force to be used to protect school property.

I looked at the bill and guess what? It only says a teacher can use deadly force when any other person would be justified in doing so against anyone else under existing Texas law. It changes nothing. (You could replace "teachers" with "Republicans" and "students" with "Democrats" and that's the current state of the law right now, too. Hey, that would really get some headlines!)

What people should be shocked at is that Texas has for decades allowed for deadly force to be used in some situations to protect property.