THE NEWTOWN, Conn., school shooting has once again brought the gun-rights issue to the forefront.

Discussion concerning what to do about America's escalating violence problem has predictably ranged from outlawing all private firearms to arming everybody.

One of the most interesting--and ridiculous--suggestions comes from some Arizona officials who propose arming designated teachers or administrators and training them to deal with any shooter who might somehow find his way into a school.

The idea is that these designated gun-toters will defend themselves and their students until the police arrive.

Well, this is a great idea. We have a teacher or a principal shooting it out with an invader in the middle of a crowded hallway or classroom. Kids and teachers running for cover while bullets are flying in every direction.

An invader or an irate student might either give up or shoot himself when confronted by the police, but both, I suspect, would feel they could hold their own against a teacher or school administrator. So, the lead would probably keep flying.

This would be especially true if the shooter was an irate student who had some grudge against school employees.

Another problem with this idea is that when the police arrived, they would have to first differentiate between the shooter and the school administrator.

Every police officer in the city, county or state is not going to know and recognize the teacher as the defender. Responding officers will start blasting the first person they see with a gun and then, if the invader hasn't killed the teacher, the police will.

Then there is the problem of the gun itself. Will the designated teacher or administrator carry it around in a holster? If so, someone with no weapon could just overpower the teacher and take his pistol (we're assuming that school employees won't be armed with double-barrel shotguns).

Well, the Arizona folks have an answer to this problem. They want the school's one gun to be locked in a secure box, a box to which only the designated defender has a key.

Suppose the designated defender is sick that day or at a conference. Suppose he misplaces the key and can't find it when the critical moment arrives. Worse yet, suppose some student finds the key and opens the box?

OK, have a combination lock on the box, someone suggested.