Guns and Schools

I think almost everyone out there can agree that the killing of children is one of the worst things that can ever happen in a civilized society, and the killing of 20 kids at a the Sandy Hook Elementary School last Friday is one of the most heinous crimes this country has ever seen.  The question now is: what are we going to do about it?

It is extremely important to note that mass shootings occur almost exclusively in locations where guns are prohibited.  The Colorado movie theater shooter chose not the closest or largest theater to attack, he chose the one out of the four local theaters that specifically banned guns from the premises.  From schools to other "Gun free zone" locations, students and patrons are like fish in a barrel and easy marks.  

The Michigan legislature, in response to the mass murders in Connecticut Friday, passed a bill allowing conceal carry in schools that was vetoed by Governor Snyder today.  While the legislature was on the right track, I do not think that teachers or administrators should have to carry weapons if they are not comfortable doing so.  The best way we could protect our children is to provide each school with controlled entry and an armed guard.  Our children would no longer be sitting ducks, unarmed and defenseless, and cowardly madmen would not have the easy targets they have today.  The Connecticut shooter committed suicide as soon as he heard law enforcement responding to the scene.  Had there been a trained, armed guard at the door of the school, he would most likely not have even attempted the attack or would have been stopped before he could enter and do damage.

We pay to provide armed guards for Federal and State run facilities: courthouses, office buildings, even the Department of Motor Vehicles.  Don't our children deserve the same level of protection?  No matter what we do to law-abiding citizens, criminals and crazies are going to find away to get weapons, whether firearms or explosives or incendiary devices (the worst US school killings was in 1927 when 45 people were killed in a school bombing), so we need to have trained people on the ground able to address these situations if and when they arise.  We should all be contacting our state, local and federal government representatives and demand that every primary and secondary school building have an experienced, armed guard.