The morning of Dec. 14 came as a shock to all parents. We watched news of the mass shooting at an elementary school in Connecticut with tears in our eyes and a lump in our throats.
While the rest of us went about our mornings on Friday, 26 innocent lives were lost at a suburban school much like the ones where we send our own children. Many questions were raised throughout that day and over the weekend, not the least of which was: "How do we explain this to our children?"
Counselors, psychiatrists and others have offered ideas for talking to children about what happened at Sandy Hook Elementary. Social media has been abuzz with parents asking each other, "Will you? If so, how?" Some parents decided it was best to say nothing, while others have struggled with how much to say.
This is not an issue about "gun rights." This is an issue about "human rights." A man has the natural right to defend his life in any environment. Only when the government denies that right do we invite tragedy. If the teachers had been armed and trained to respond, many lives would have been saved. The real tragedy are "victim disarmament zones" that our laws have created. Victim disarmament zones are environments in which the politicians have declared that we do not have the right to defend our lives; churches and schools in particular. The more victim disarmament zones that we create, the more victims we will have. Which of the following signs, if posted on the entrance to your school would prevent another tragedy?: Sign 1: All weapons prohibited on these premises -or- Sign 2: Staff heavily armed and trained. Any attempt to harm children will be met with deadly force. Which sign would you post?
Almost verbatim what I told my 12 year old yesterday (as well as discussing what to do if he ever found himself in a threatening situation like what unfolded at the Sandy Hook school). Great post Jake Lilley!
The real issue isn't guns, it's mental illness. That one is complicated and messy and doesn't have neat catch phrases to throw around.
We live in a world in which our government has declared that we may defend our lives only in environments of their choosing. Frankly, I find it disgusting that my government should tell me when and where I have the right to defend my life and the lives of my loved ones.
www.tucsonnewsnow.com/.../armed-citizen-pulls-gun-on-oregon-ma...
So maybe the lunatics would still enter the school, but you think the armed adults would at least be able to defend themselves and the students. True, but teachers are education professionals, not firearm experts. They don't spend hours on the firing range like police and military personnel. They don't go through training scenarios that teach them to keep a cool head. Putting guns into the hands of untrained teachers could actually do more harm. As a country, we have a Columbine-like school shooting once every few years and unfortunately 20-30 are killed. However, inviting literally hundreds of thousands of guns into our schools is asking for trouble. Imagine the number of misplaced guns that would fall into the hands of children; the number of unbalanced teachers who could be armed; the irrational armed parents at parent-teacher meetings. More guns would only invite more killings - accidental or otherwise. Bill...You're an elected official. Shame on you! And FWIW, I grew up with guns and love to shoot but feel no need to carry.
We have 10’s of thousands of schools in this country with a hundred million students. One nut-job entered a school last week and performed a horrendous act. Now you and others are overreacting. You want to arm teachers in preparation of a miniscule risk. Out of the hundred million students and teachers, 26 were killed; that’s 0.000026%. And since school shooting don’t occur daily, weekly or even annually, the probability drops even further. You're more likely to be killed in a car accident than in a school shooting. You're more likely to be killed by lightening than in a school shooting. That’s the rational fact! Unfortunately, we have a whiplash mentality. Terrorists attack New York…suspend civil rights and privacy. Psycho shoots students and teachers…arm the teachers. Talk of restricting assault weapons…record sales of assault weapons are reported. Before we act, prudent/wise people should look at the facts and make rational decisions. Unfortunately, there aren't too many prudent/wise people in politics and Bill is a prime example.
Mayan Palace Theater, San Antonio, Texas, this week: Jesus Manuel Garcia shoots at a movie theater, a police car and bystanders from the nearby China Garden restaurant; as he enters the movie theater, guns blazing, an armed off-duty cop shoots Garcia four times, stopping the attack. Total dead: Zero. – Winnemucca, Nev., 2008: Ernesto Villagomez opens fire in a crowded restaurant; concealed-carry permit-holder shoots him dead. Total dead: Two Appalachian School of Law, 2002: Crazed immigrant shoots the dean and a professor, then begins shooting students; as he goes for more ammunition, two armed students point their guns at him, allowing a third to tackle him. Total dead: Three. Santee, Calif., 2001: Student begins shooting his classmates — as well as the “trained campus supervisor”; an off-duty cop who happened to be bringing his daughter to school that day points his gun at the shooter, holding him until more police arrive. Total dead: Two. Pearl High School, Mississippi, 1997: After shooting several people at his high school, student heads for the junior high school; assistant principal Joel Myrick retrieves a .45 pistol from his car and points it at the gunman’s head, ending the murder spree. Total dead: Two. Edinboro, Pa., 1998: A student shoots up a junior high school dance being held at a restaurant; restaurant owner pulls out his shotgun and stops the gunman. Total dead: One.
Please refrain from telling me what my opinion is. You are the only one in this discussion who has mentioned arming, " every school teacher, every lunch assistant, administrator, and para-pro". You do make some valid points as does Mr. Lilley. There is no guaranteed right or wrong answer and going to either extreme (arm everybody vs arm nobody) is certainly not the answer. In the case of the Oregon mall shooting, we will never know for 100% certain if the man who took aim at the shooter saved lived lives or not; but it seems very likely that he did. Read the articles. The worst school mass murder in our history occured in 1927 in Bath, Michigan (45 lives), was committed by a school employee, and was not done with guns. Read the Wikipedia account. What would have stopped that? I invite you to honestly answer Mr. Lilley's question, "Sign 1: All weapons prohibited on these premises -or- Sign 2: Staff heavily armed and trained. Any attempt to harm children will be met with deadly force. Which sign would you post? Please remember that sign #1 was posted at Sandy Hook. Did it work?
5/13/2011 An intruder who was shot and killed after a confrontation with a Duluth woman in her shower was likely stalking her for days and may have other victims, Gwinnett police said. Police: Woman Shot Intruder 9 Times In Self Defense School Counselor Shoots, Kills Home Intruder The 53-year-old woman, who is also a veteran private school counselor, was alone at the time of the Wednesday morning attack. She lives on East Mount Tabor Circle in Duluth. The woman was getting out of the shower when she was met by a strange man with a kitchen knife, police said. They said there was a struggle in the bathroom, and she fell in the tub. Police later identified the man as Israel Perez Puentes, a Cuban national who lived in Alpharetta. "The male was armed with a kitchen knife, a struggle ensued between the two of them. She fell in the bathtub injuring herself," Gwinnett police spokesman Edwin Ritter said. The woman tried to fight the man off with a shower a rod, and he forced her into her bedroom, police said. They said she told her attacker she had money in the room. But she grabbed a .22-caliber handgun and shot the man nine times, police said.
Mayan Palace Theater - Not a school. An armed off-duty cop shot the criminal, not an armed novice. Winnemucca New - Not a school. The criminal was shot while he was reloading. Luckily, the hero didn't miss and kill one of the 300 people in the crowded bar. Imagine if the other bikers had been armed and everyone started shooting. This was a grudge between two families. Appalachian School of Law - Not a elementary, middle or high school. The criminal shot specific victims and fled scene. The two "hero" students were trained police officers, not average Joes carrying weapons. Santee Calif - Two trained police officers were the heros of that day, not an untrained novice. Pearl High School - the hero of the day was a trained US Army commander, not an average Joe. Edinboro, PA - Not a school, but a school function. Hero of the day showed restraint. In most of these cases, the gunman was done shooting by the time anyone could act. In most of these cases, trained professional law enforcement or military individuals were the heros. You'll disagree with me but I stand by my decision that arming teachers is a bad idea. The risk of school shootings is very very remote. This risk of unintentional shootings if legal guns are prevalent in schools is too great.
Even so, if the psycho, insane, or trouble gunman knows that teachers may be armed, guess who gets shot first? That's right...The teachers, then the kids. Oh, and by the way, if a kid doesn't have a gun, he could always surprise the teacher and take the teacher's gun...Then kill students. In respect to your sign questions...Neither sign matters as gunmen on a mission to kill someone aren't thinking clearly and many of them are either planning on being shot or to commit suicide when they're done. I suggest that you take a good long look at the possible short-comings of your idea. As an elected official, you owe us the respect of showing proper reflection and understanding of issues. Not rash opinions & decisions.
Later, you offered a link for titled "Armed citizen pulls gun on Oregon mall shooter - Tucson News Now" further offering your belief that citizens should be armed and since this is a blog about the school shooting, it is implied that you're referring to teachers. Mr. Bryan, you can try to backpeddle but your comments indicate that you do support the arming of teachers and allowing all adults to carry weapons onto school property. I do not support that notion and will vote against any politician who supports your position. Granted we live in North Georgia and you may be looking for a certain vote...I'm sure you'll get it but you won't get mine or those of my family.
I believe that, at the ONLY entrance to a school, within the first 300 meters, every person in every office should have a locked and loaded firearm. Unfortunately, some people would die. Fortunately, less people would have to die.
Once again, this is the tactic resorted to by Frank Jones. Still smarting over that landslide A1 victory, Frankie?
MN legislator says yes, Gov. Dayton says no, but a Mpls. school staffer took matters into her own hands and brought a .357 Magnum to school. Should teachers bear arms? http://stmichael.patch.com/articles/poll-arm-teachers-367590ac#poll_63488
"Psycho-lunatics don't think clearly...kind of like you!" is a personal attack is interesting. Is that what passes for 'civil debate' under the Jones roof? hypocrisy, thy name is Frank Jones. <-- I've typed this before - deja vu all over again!
try making the families of those 'only' 2 people feel better. You would not be able to. People kill me (no pun intended) trying to rationalize what cannot be rationalized.