Candidate Proposes Using Textbooks as Shields

A candidate for state superintendent of schools said Thursday he wants thick used textbooks placed under every student's desk so they can use them for self-defense during school shootings.

People might think it's kind of weird, crazy, said Republican Bill Crozier of Union City, Oklahoma, a teacher and former Air Force security officer. It is a practical thing; it's something you can do. It might be a way to deflect those bullets until police go there.

Crozier and a group of aides produced a 10-minute video Tuesday in which they shoot math, language and telephone books with a variety of weapons, including an AK-47 assault rifle and a 9mm pistol. The rifle bullet penetrated two books, including a calculus textbook, but the pistol bullet was stopped by a single book.