By TERRY AHNER

tahner@tnonline.comSo now there's a proposal before the Senate Education Committee that would allow school boards to authorize if staff may or may not carry guns on school grounds.Those of you who have read my prior posts on the topic of guns will not be surprised to know that I am against such legislation being passed, though not because I believe the idea is impractical.The argument for those in favor of the proposed SB1193 is that armed school personnel could eliminate, or at least attempt to thwart, an attack from an intruder on school grounds.I get that point of view. I really do.At no time should our children ever be in danger, especially on school property.After all, when we stop to think about it, schools really are our children's home away from home.While it is absolutely our duty to ensure our schools are safe places for our children to attend, I do not believe that armed teachers or other school personnel is the way to go.Inevitably, it is my belief that such a concept could backfire and ultimately put our school populations at an even greater risk of danger.For starters, guns would be a more common presence on school grounds, and therefore could raise the risk of gun accidents.Furthermore, the bill does not require school districts to provide parental notification if their child's teacher is armed.Therefore, a parent would be unaware if their child is in a classroom where a gun may be hidden, and perhaps within arm's reach.At absolutely no point in time should our children be even remotely close to such a dangerous weapon.As we all have been told at one point or another in our lifetimes, accidents happen closest to home.Lord forbid such an egregious act should ever transpire in a classroom, of all places.Imagine trying to explain that one to a parent. Good luck with that.How sad that a select minority of perpetrators have the capability to put our society under such duress.It's circumstances such as these that makes us question whether our world really has gone mad.The answer, of course, is that it isn't our world, but, rather, some of the individuals who live in it but choose to make bad choices.Regardless, I remain steadfast in my belief that there is no place for guns in an educational learning environment.