Number one: I'm not a fan of arming teachers in schools. Let them teach kids.There are plenty of other people in a school, or who can be put into schools, that can be trained to handle and use firearms if required.
Number two: Something tells me David Hogg and the other student-activists at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, the site of mass murderer Nikolas Cruz' shooting spree, aren't going to be too thrilled with the vote outcome emanating from the Stoneman Douglas Commission. The commission finally decided on one of many measures they're considering to provide enhanced and additional security for students and teachers in the event any future mass shooting attempts occur.
Despite the pressure put on the commission by many of the students at the high school, as well as the media's own attempts at pushing for a vastly different outcome, all but one of the 14 commissioners apparently voted in favor of the proposal to arm teachers (from CBS Miami):
"The Stoneman Douglas Commission voted 13-1 on Wednesday to recommend that qualified teachers who volunteer to carry guns on campus be allowed to do so.
“The more people we have appropriately trained and appropriately equipped after their appropriately selected the safer the kids are because we have to get there in seconds,” said Commission Member Grady Judd, Sheriff of Polk County.
The idea is a controversial one and it came up repeatedly after the February 14th shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School that left 17 dead and 17 others injured.
Commission Chair Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said the shooting at MSD proved to him that selected teachers who undergo background checks and extensive training can stop a school shooter."
While not changing existing law in the least, the commission's proposal will now go to the Florida state legislature for consideration. And given their intimate standing with school shootings, it's eminently possible the legislature will look kindly upon the commission's recommendation.
Although I'm not personally in favor, in any way, of slapping hot weapons into the hands of school teachers, I have to ask: What else are schools supposed to do? For one, most districts readily admit they don't have the resources to place armed security officers in all the locations in any school district where they're needed.
Also, it seems to me that restricting access to schools brings its own set of complications and metal detectors such as the magnetometers you see at airports, as well as the whole processing system and similar measures, can also be very costly. And sure, you can always dial 911, but the response time, when seconds count, often runs into minutes and there's no guarantee you're not going to end up with a mess at the scene as individual officers and units try to sort out who's going in and who's providing cover. Leave out that the first armed responder on scene could be another "Coward of Broward," and there are definitely problems.
In short, it's a big mess.
"Politics is just show business for ugly people."
Number two: Something tells me David Hogg and the other student-activists at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, the site of mass murderer Nikolas Cruz' shooting spree, aren't going to be too thrilled with the vote outcome emanating from the Stoneman Douglas Commission. The commission finally decided on one of many measures they're considering to provide enhanced and additional security for students and teachers in the event any future mass shooting attempts occur.
Despite the pressure put on the commission by many of the students at the high school, as well as the media's own attempts at pushing for a vastly different outcome, all but one of the 14 commissioners apparently voted in favor of the proposal to arm teachers (from CBS Miami):
"The Stoneman Douglas Commission voted 13-1 on Wednesday to recommend that qualified teachers who volunteer to carry guns on campus be allowed to do so.
“The more people we have appropriately trained and appropriately equipped after their appropriately selected the safer the kids are because we have to get there in seconds,” said Commission Member Grady Judd, Sheriff of Polk County.
The idea is a controversial one and it came up repeatedly after the February 14th shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School that left 17 dead and 17 others injured.
Commission Chair Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said the shooting at MSD proved to him that selected teachers who undergo background checks and extensive training can stop a school shooter."
While not changing existing law in the least, the commission's proposal will now go to the Florida state legislature for consideration. And given their intimate standing with school shootings, it's eminently possible the legislature will look kindly upon the commission's recommendation.
Although I'm not personally in favor, in any way, of slapping hot weapons into the hands of school teachers, I have to ask: What else are schools supposed to do? For one, most districts readily admit they don't have the resources to place armed security officers in all the locations in any school district where they're needed.
Also, it seems to me that restricting access to schools brings its own set of complications and metal detectors such as the magnetometers you see at airports, as well as the whole processing system and similar measures, can also be very costly. And sure, you can always dial 911, but the response time, when seconds count, often runs into minutes and there's no guarantee you're not going to end up with a mess at the scene as individual officers and units try to sort out who's going in and who's providing cover. Leave out that the first armed responder on scene could be another "Coward of Broward," and there are definitely problems.
In short, it's a big mess.
"Politics is just show business for ugly people."