While the anti-gunners hate to hear it, the idea of allowing teachers to carry firearms may be the most effective way to stop or even prevent mass shootings at our schools. Armed teachers would be able to meet any threat quickly and efficiently, possibly saving countless lives.

Anti-gunners, however, often make bizarre claims regarding armed teachers, including acting like we’re talking about requiring teachers to carry, that we think the schools should pay for the guns, and so on. It’s more indicative of their collectivist nature than anything we on the pro-gun side has ever actually said.

As the debate rages on in statehouses throughout the country, it seems possible that in Pennsylvania, such debate is unnecessary.

The state law banning weapons in school makes an exception for people who have a lawful purpose to carry a gun or other weapon.

Some legal experts said this court decision opens the door for teachers and others to have guns in school.

Andrew Goslin was convicted of violating Pennsylvania’s school weapons law after he took a knife to his son’s Lancaster County school for a parent teacher conference.

But Superior Court threw out his conviction, saying the law allows those with a lawful purpose to have a weapon in school. The knife was lawful because Goslin — a carpenter — used it for work.

Joshua Prince, Goslin’s attorney, said the decision has broad impact.

“A teacher would under the Goslin decision have the right to lawfully carry a lawful weapon on school grounds provided it’s not for some unlawful purpose,” Prince said.

In other words, teachers could, at least in theory, carry a firearm right now.

That’s good because Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf has vowed to veto a bill meant to provide training for teachers to carry in schools. Considering this decision, his veto would be null and void.

Of course, there is the obligatory quote from a teacher against the concept of armed teachers.

“And I’m very disturbed by it,” said Beth Yoder, a teacher from Pottstown.

She grew up around guns, but she said she worries about the consequences of arming teachers.

“We should not be packing anything except our lunches when we go to school,” Yoder said.

Here’s my take. If you want to risk being gunned down in the school because of your fears, go right ahead. However, you don’t get to make that choice for anyone else, and that’s precisely what opposition to arming teachers is.

No one wants to make it mandatory that teachers carry guns. We want to give people the option to do so if they wish.

The truth is, if a mass shooting is coming to a school, the gunman won’t care if the teachers don’t think it’s their place to carry. All he’ll care about is whether he can kill a lot of people or not. If he doesn’t think he can, he may rethink the whole thing, but if he knows there’s nothing but a corral full of sheep, then his inner wolf will start salivating.

I’m sorry, but as a parent of two school-aged children, I’d much rather have armed teachers than a dead kid.