“School officials want the public to know that in compliance with state law (House Bill 0183), schools, churches, government agencies and liquor stores statewide will be posting 4-by-6-inch stickers reminding the public, particularly those with a concealed-carry license, that there are limits on where a gun can be carried,” southstar.suntimes.com reports. “While schools didn’t allow guns even before the concealed-carry law was passed, they still are required to display the reminder. Some officials are questioning the mandate, and some find the sticker image disturbing.” Yeah me too. But not for the same reason. Catch this . . .
“One of my biggest concerns as a principal is safety and security,” Tinley Park High School Principal Theresa Nolan said. “It is bothersome to have to post a sticker of a gun that says, ‘Hey, folks, leave your guns at home.’ ”
Nolan said she is not opposed to posting it, she’s just worried that not enough people are aware of what it means and could misinterpret the new signage.
“I think the general public will be alarmed by it and wonder if people have been allowed to bring guns to school in the past,” she said. In her 22 years with Bremen Community High School District 228, she said, “I have no knowledge of guns ever being in this building.”
Nolan, and others, take issue with the sticker’s design.
“I would have appreciated something more subtle, yet still recognizable — a logo, perhaps, not a gun,” she said.
“You can’t look at this (sticker) and not think about Sandy Hook,” she said, referring to the 2012 school shooting in Newton, Conn., in which 20 children and six teachers were killed . . .
In some ways, [Supt. John Byrne ] said, “it is a sad editorial on humanity” that people need to be reminded that weapons are not allowed in schools. Then again, he said, the world has not been the same since 9/11.
TTAG reader ctsheepdog writes:
It is bad enough when bent fingers or a Pop Tart bitten into a right angle that resembles a pistol puts fear into the hearts of school administrators. It is quite another when the mere image of a gun, on a “No Guns” sign no less, makes certain people uneasy. If the simple image of the black outline of a pistol (with the ubiquitous red slash through it) is enough to instill fear, has their entire “guns must be feared” meme just jumped the proverbial shark? For many, it now seems that guns = Valdermort, that which shall not be talked about.
TTAG reader DM saw this quote and emailed this comment:
‘The image can be frightening, Byrne said, “but if it keeps the world safer, that’s OK. The No. 1 thing we do for kids in general is keep their school safe. We don’t want schools to become like airports but we should make some reasonable efforts. If it’s reasonable to tell people this is a safe, no-gun zone, then we’ll do it.”’
Yeah, stickers keep the world safer.
These are the people teaching our kids.
God help us!
Another reason for nationwide school choice.
Liberals believe you exercised school choice when you bought your house.
If you love your kids, do not submit them to government indoctrination camps (public schools).
Bob, while I have to admit it was not the primary motivation, we have sent all four of our kids to a private school that is not a gun free zone. In fact, the full-time campus security officers are recently retired (mid-50ish) members of the local PD who I know are authorized to carry and do. I also know of at least on faculty member and more than a couple of parents (both dads and moms) who exercise their right to carry as well. While the school does not advertise this policy, it does not hide from it when asked.
Now, if we could weed out some of the über liberals among the faculty…..
Not teaching my children. Homeschool all the way, baby.
Homeschooling keeps looking better and better, eh?….
Is that suntimes article trying to break the record for the most derp in one nonstory?
I used to really like the Beretta 92, but these signs may ruin it for me. Why couldn’t they have chosen a Hi-Point for their “poster boy”? (Btw, very few of the prohibited places in Chicago have bothered to put up these signs. Know the list of prohibited places and don’t rely on these signs.)
I consider it a badge of pride. The ol’ 92 must be the deadliest of them all to garner such attention.
There should never be the power of law at force where the owners of the property don’t even bother to put up a sign. Then again you could move to Iowa and walk right past the sign and be totally legal in doing so. (Well, not at a school though.)
The one on my school is of one of those early 20th centry, kinda ugly, kinda cute auto-loaders that preceded the ole 1911
Interesting. There is one prescribed sign by statute. Being a school, it is off limits anyways. But if a retailer posted such a sign, arguably it would not have the force of law.
I believe that the wording of the law does not distinguish between which silhouette is used. It specifies sizing, general contents, and what text must be including while disallowing other text. The state police also helpfully provide a compliant sign graphic.
If, however, you chose to use a 1911 pointing the left, it would still fulfill the wording of the law, and therefore also carry the force of law.
I remember seeing a no guns sign at a local grocery store, the silhouette of a revolver with the red circle and slash, and I thought, “No revolvers allowed? Glad I’m carrying a Glock!” and proceeded inside to do my shopping.
Hehehehehe
I’ll have to remember that and make sure I too am carrying a different model. At the very least a stainless finish should be ok as it’s not black.
These are the same individuals that think the those stupid Safe Passage signs posted all over the place will somehow stop some jagoffs from maiming and killing one another, at least during school hours anyway.
Illustrating Chicago Crime, Murder and Mayhem at heyjackass.com.
Out of curiosity, do you come across any violent crimes/homicides in Chicago schools while keeping your running tally?
Sure, lets make schools like airports. Finger-y TSA agents fondling kids are WAY better than the second amendment…
Thanks RF.. Now I have a headache.. Really….
Note to self, never read hopolopes replies to any article, and then proceed to beat your head into a wall.
All bad…
Unless Harry Potter or Hermoine Granger ccats a spell that magical evaporates a bad guy’s gun upon crossing the magical barrier, the sign is useless if someone is intent on committing murder. Just ask Adam Lanza or James Holmes. Hate to break this to some antis, but Harry Potter and Hogwarts were fictional. Just because you say it on a movie screen does not make it reality. The first would be murderer that turns around and says “damn guess I can’t kill everyone in the building, no guns are allowed inside”, he will be the first, and he might just find a unicorn as well.
The wands in the Harry Potter stories are highly effective weapons. No need to bother prohibiting guns when everyone has something far more useful.
The wands-as-guns analogy won’t hold up, but sometimes I think JK Rowling’s wizarding society is a decent analog for a society in which literally everyone has guns.
Actually, it holds up pretty well. Almost the first thing the bad guys do when they get in power is make ownership of wands by those they consider “undesirable” illegal and begin confiscation. It’s a major part of their “ethnic cleansing” of the magical world.
Correct, it doesn’t evaporate good guy guns either, at least its never evaporated mine… 😀 basically, if I’m not at risk to get frisked or go through a detector, there’s a good chance I’m carrying.
Get A Life Teresa.Go get some education on guns and safety after all you are an educator aren’t you?
Looking at the results of today’s educational systems, does anybody believe that “educators”, in general, are competent, rational, and have common sense?
So, why the surprise?
Mix in that this area is in a State and Municipal area that is massively bankrupt and corrupt and still votes D, there is no hope of a sane reaction.
BTW, the Sun Times is at the intellectual level of the National Enquirer, although not as entertaining.
They love the D!
Words can’t describe how stupid these people are. This just reminds me that I could never be a teacher. Not because I wouldn’t love to teach, but because my coworkers would be such emotional basket cases over nothing. I don’t know how my mom gets through a school day when her coworkers are just as spineless and nutty as these people.
To be fair, these are the words of a few. To say all teachers are like that is to say that all Chicago cops are as blockheaded as McCarthy.
These asshats are afraid of their own f’ing shadows. Pathetic sheeple.
Perhaps a sign that says “Gun free zone. We promise we won’t shoot you or defend ourselves.” Maybe a picture of a dead kid on it. These people are so stupid.
Chainsaws are something I fear. Not real rational but I do. But just because I’m afraid of them is no reason for me to try to ban them from everyone else.
Afraid of he silhouette of a pistol? Just put up a nice friendly sign at each door that says, “PLEASE don’t shoot the students.”
That would discriminate against the poor, violent, psychopath hell bent on murdering children that happens to be unable to read.
I mean, after all, “if only he had been able to read that sign telling him not to, he wouldn’t have done it.”
THEY’RE DESIGNED TO SHRED THE FLESH OF LIVING THINGS!!!!!1!!!!11!
Fearing chainsaws is quite rational. You have the closest thing our technology has to a lightsaber in your hands with zero safety equipment between you and the ouchy part. You use it to cut down a couple thousand pounds of dense material and watch it smash into the earth in what you hope is the correct direction. It makes so much noise you require hearing protection to use it on a regular basis, limiting your situational awareness and safety glasses because normal use of this machine will throw chunks of wood at your eyeballs. Also, it’s full of flammable liquids.
Fear the chainsaw. Use it, but fear it.
If a sign makes you think about Sandy Hook, maybe you should live in a cardboard box and shun society.
When I see one of these signs, I don’t actually think of anything. Brain just goes blank for a second.
They make me say the F word and then walk back to my car to go to another store.
Seconded, seeing one of these signs increases my blood pressure as I’m simultaneously confronted by the infringement of my rights, the ignorance of others, and the decision process that begins; does it have the force of law? If so and I have to go there it’s back to the car to leave my gun, if no, proceed with caution or else find someplace else to conduct my business. Come to think of it, if I ever needed a gun and didn’t have one I suppose a good place to start would be the cars parked at the county courthouse, social security administration or one of the other places where guns are actually unlawful in my state. I bet anything 1 in three in this area would have a pistol in it, left there by it’s carrier as they entered into the GFZ.
If there were ANY evidence that CCW permit holders with guns made a place more dangerous (as opposed to the evidence that clearly demonstrates they break the law at a fraction of rate of non-CCW permit holders and the evidence that suggests concealed carry makes a place less dangerous) or if there were ANY evidence that a GFZ prevented a violent crime I could perhaps be only annoyed instead of outraged but these restrictions. Given the facts, it’s incomprehensible that there are so many GFZs. At least SSA and the courthouse have armed security, which ought to be the minimum standard for any GFZ. If you’re going to force me to give up the tools for my own defense at least you ought to provide for my defense yourself.
As for business and other private establishments that post as GFZs (no force of law in Ohio) I avoid them if at all possible and take my business elsewhere, or else, when necessary, ignore the signs and carry on so to speak.
I can’t speak for others (though the evidence is there that most people must feel about like I do or the murder rate would be astronomical) but no matter how angry I am it never occurs to me that I’m armed and could shoot the offending person. In fact, unless it’s causing me discomfort, or I’m entering a restricted area the only time I think about my gun is when I perceive a potential threat, and then I’m comforted by being armed as I determine whether to dismiss the situation as non-threatening, leave, formulate a reaction plan, or otherwise prepare to deal with the problem.
Given this, I can’t imagine how GFZs could ever make a place safer, unless I’m wrong and there are just a lot of people who become homicidally angry over the friction of day to day life.
“Then again, he said, the world has not been the same since 9/11.”
What an ill-informed egotistical America-centric blanket statement. Maybe it’s only true because we’ve made it true due to our sudden expansion in overseas involvement, due to the War on Terror.
I’m not denying or attempting to negate al-Queda’s horrendous actions, just inject a point of view that uses things like reason and logic. Bad things happen to good people, all over the world, every day. Some day are worse than others. Using that fact to justify poor but politically popular policy is part of the reason for America’s current state of general hand-basketry.
More like:
“9/11 was a really bad day for America, and especially for those who died, were injured, or lost loved ones, and it’s unfortunate that we’ve squandered the resulting worldwide goodwill pursuing generally asinine policies that have instead alienated us further. The world really hasn’t been the same since the beginning of recorded human history.”
No wonder these people hate guns. Their reality consists of a permanent Malcom-in-the-Middle style ignorance, delusion, or outright fabrication fabrication of things like, you know, facts.
Why is it so hard for so many people to do simple things like read history books or do independent research on topics of interest and import instead of parroting whatever was on TV last night?
Normalcy bias. People don’t read books nor “have time” to do independent research because they’re convinced they don’t “have time”. They’d rather be told what’s important and assume they get all the information they need from sound bite news outlets. And then they feel informed…
Considering that the general public was educated by these people (clowns), it is quite possible that many of them are so stupid that they don’t understand that an object with a red line and circle around it means that the item is prohibited.
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, over.
Foxtrot Uniform Bravo Alpha Romeo.
Please don’t say “gun” you should spell it only “g” “u” “n”
Still too close to the object.
How about “That thing that goes boom.”
Nah, then the idiots would probably ban John Madden from schools, too.
I lol’d
“You can’t look at this (sticker) and not think about Sandy Hook, Yeah. Those stickers really did a lot of good there.
Have we tried stickers in Iraq or Afghanistan yet?
Not that I’m aware of… but we did try disarming Iraqi citizens for a while… guess what happened. Crime, including rape and robbery, skyrocketed. The the Idiot in charge of the disarmament orders backed down and made the citizens happy again because they could finally defend themselves against such law breakers… and the crime rate dropped.
No Beretta 92s. Everything else is fine.
I am on the board at my kids’ private school. They wanted to put a big “no guns” sign. I prepared a written memo on the law and showed them it was not a crime and the large sign may frighten people. Moreover, when the proverbial feces strikes the oscillating device, wouldn’t they want one of the good guys ready and able to respond? They put up this tiny transluscent sign high on the door as a “compromise” (besides, several other parents are CCW carriers and articulated their opinions). Can’t even see it. #winning
Nolan said she is not opposed to posting it, she’s just worried that not enough people are aware of what it means and could misinterpret the new signage.
If only there were some way to convey that awareness–to teach. But where in the world would a Principal find someone with the skills to do that?
Ah, but since it isn’t on the standardized test, yet, they don’t have time to teach it. They need every teaching minute to teach to the standardized test, (instead of the skills behind it) so they get a good score (that is still pitiful by the standards of other countries.)
I’m still trying to figure out how one could misinterpret the universal sign for “No.”
There’s such a fine shade of meaning between “yes” and “no.”
Well, the symbols we put on poison (skulls) are also decorative items for Day of the Dead celebrations. So maybe there’s a culture that thinks a circle with a slash represents the belt-buckle style holster you’re supposed to carry it in…?
I’m going to get a sticker with a picture of a full gas gauge made put it on my dash over the real gas gauge.
That way, I will NEVER run out of gas!
This sticker thing can freeking cure cancer, end hunger, cure the common cold fer cryin out loud!
Where’s that sticker web site?
I guess Sandy Hook went so great for the grabbers that there is no need to get serious about school safety, yeah, stickers are plenty good. We are dealing with a cult willing to give their & their childrens lives for their cause. Death is a tough sell though, we are doing reasonably well, Randy
The sign should read…
“This is a gun free establishment”!
Yes, criminals welcome, those darn corncealed carriers won’t hurt you here, those bullies. Randy
My oldest goes to private school. The other year they had a a fundraiser auction. When I came to pick up my son, the principal and some teachers were all examining a mosin-nagant that had been brought for the auction. I gave them some specifics. The principal then walked the gun upstairs through the school and joked “nobody better mess with my kids on my watch”. We’ll be keeping him in that school.
Public education is nothing more than institutionalized stupidity. When public school teachers aren’t busy having sex with their students, they and their insipid unions and administrators are destroying their minds.
At least they are keeping their students safe, you know, duck under your desk so that when the ICBM hits the next one over you will be fine, Randy
I hear that some schools are buying bullet proof writing boards; that way they can REALLY protect themselves from the bullets from a mass murderer.
I kinda wish they used a picture of Yosemite Sam jumping and shooting into the air. At least that way I could get a good chuckle out of it.
Believe it or not, there are some perfectly reasonable law-abiding people out there who are illiterate. I wouldn’t want to see them in violation of a law because some moron replaced a very clear sign that anyone can understand with something else.
Or perhaps do not speak English, also. A text-based sign would be less effective as well as racist and disenfrachising of the uneducated.
What is “bothersome” is passive-aggressive feministas playing Principal. The head educator needs a pair. Too much kumbaya and not enough discipline.
Holy Crap! What is wrong with you mindless people who are disturbed by a gun picture?
Now wouldn’t it be beneficial to educate everybody about firearms? We do for drugs, self defense, bullying, etc .
Imagine the difference it would make by education rather than trying to hide behind a bunch of bureaucracy drummed up to attack our 200year old Constitution? Wake up! Our Constitution is what makes America a Great Nation. Don’t let self serving, politicians take it away.
Did the Sandy Hook building have one of these signs displayed?
Cause you know, things may have gone differently…..
17+1 of Federal HSTs in the dispenser of your choice will keep the world safer.
“You can’t look at this (sticker) and not think about Sandy Hook,”
Really? I looked at that sign and read “No guns”. Just like I look at a sign with a slash through a cigarette silhouette (say that three times fast.) and read it as “No Smoking”. No smoking signs don’t make me think of people who die of cancer.
Theresa Nolan, you have a sick mind.
Only if you have the thought processes and reasoning ability of a mollusk. Sentient beings do not obsess on bad things that happened to others in the past. This clown needs counselling and therapy. Serious therapy.
interesting that the article lists churches as a required to post in illinois. Nothing could be farther from the truth.
Although it has been arduous and seems like forever ago, the events in Sandy Hook took place in 2013, not 2012.
Did they? Because I was watching the news on December 14, 2012 and it sure seemed like it happened then.
December 14, 2012.
The country just happened to lose it’s s#$t in 2013.
(what Lucas D. said)
I hardly think it happened less than 2 months ago.
When I walked into my kids preschool class the other day he was being scolded by 2 teachers. When I casually inquired what all the hubub was all about I was informed by a very distraught and serious young teacher that he was “playing guns” with another boy and “we can’t condone any kind of weapons in this classroom.” I laughed in her face.
Seth, did your kid bring an actual “weapon” to class? Or, did the teacher inadvertently hit upon a subtle but key point, that your child brought an open and potentially rebellious mind to class which these programmers see as a “weapon” against their collective’s aims?
“In her 22 years with Bremen Community High School District 228, she said, “I have no knowledge of guns ever being in this building.””
I find it exceedingly difficult to believe that in 22 years, there has never been a single police officer in this High School.
Monkey see no evil…
you do know people don’t have to obey that sign right? what are you going to do to protect the children inside from the person or persons that decide that the sign doesn’t apply to them?
nothing? wow!
This is the best we can do for educators??..
So we’ve gone from teaching riflery in school to teachers being afraid to look at a drawing of a gun. This is progress?
It’s about time… Now the school doesn’t have to worry about mass shootings. The next would-be mass shooter will just take his/her murderous rampage down the road to the school that doesn’t have a “no guns allowed” sign. /obvious sarcasm
Why don’t they just take the logical next step and make a sign that says “Soft Target” in the most common languages. Terrorists and spree killers already know, so I think it would only be fair if they reminded everyone else that passes through their doors.
I am OUTRAGED!
The silhouette isn’t a GLOCK! How dare they?!
From a local blog at the Newtown Patch site regarding this story:
“For all those who say we need to “protect the children”, you should be ashamed of yourselves for putting aside all logic in an effort to ease the pain of knowing our kids remain at terrible risk.
As the great philosopher Obi-wan Kenobi said, “Who’s the more foolish: the fool, or the fool who follows him?”
Parents, are we not fools for thinking these laws that have not worked elsewhere will make a difference in Connecticut? Would more or bigger or more prominently displayed “no guns” stickers have stopped Adam Lanza, James Holmes, Seung-Hui Cho, One. L. Goh, Michael Page, Eric Harris or Dylan Klebold?
Wake up parents, you are being used as tools to further the agenda of the permanent gun control lobby in this country. They play on your fears to pass ineffective gun laws that include nonsense like stickers and signs. “
Nowadays, “teachers” are few and far between. They have been replaced with self-styled “educators,” a term intended to give more status to a once honorable (now unionized) profession.
FWIW, a blogger emailed the principal and had a follow-up conversation. The link is here:
http://www.michaelzwilliamson.com/blog/item/so-i-saw-this-panicky-article
The main post should be updated, her non-cherry picked words paint a different picture of her thought process.
When I was a kid (a long time ago) we could bring guns to school (and I mean grammar school.) Kids brought guns to school for Boy Scouts or Show and Tell. In either case, you had to inform the principle’s office the day before. And, in no case could the gun be loaded. You couldn’t play with the gun on the play ground. You had to bring it straight to the office.
I don’t remember any mass shooting at our school. Or even any single shooting. Things sure have changed.
PS
A friend of mine brought his Dad’s “German machine gun” for Show and Tell once. He called it the Kraut Tommy Gun. Looking back, I think it was a StG 44. Can you imagine seeing one of those at a school these days.
Now if we could just get violent nut jobs such as Adam Lanza to pay attention to the stickers, everything would be ok….
I mean, all the sane, law abiding citizens are going to disarm themselves when they see the sticker. So why wouldn’t a dangerous wacko abide by the sticker? The logic is infallible…
WOW…this has to be a text book case of hoplophobia.
This is what happens when libs try to be dramatic for effect. They effectively show us how silly they are. I look at this sign everyday when I come into work and all I think of is “no guns” and “too bad.”
“You can’t look at this (sticker) and not think about Sandy Hook,” she said, referring to the 2012 school shooting in Newton, Conn., in which 20 children and six teachers were killed . . .”
I can very easily. I see it and think, “Oh, a Beretta” and I continue on my way thinking, “I wish I had one. Ohhh or a ’93 that’d be bad ass…”
One can dream…
Libturds.
It’s hilarious!
They’re fueling their own hysteria. Once they remove the symbol of the gun from the “no guns allowed” sticker, they’ll then believe the new stickers will represent concealed firearms and become even more hysterical!
It’s complete hoplophobic madness!
Comments are closed.