Posted on 02/18/2018 5:01:33 AM PST by Kaslin
After days of bitter hurt, anger, deep savage argument, and plenty of non-thinking social media trolls blurting whatever comes to mind through their thumbs, it’s time we as Americans begin a genuine discussion about how to stop the next school shooting from occurring.
It’s important that we do this even though gun deaths are by no means the most dangerous form of death in America today.
In 2017, with 300,000,000-plus guns in the hands of Americans, there were 15,549 gun deaths. This ranks less than half the number of automobile deaths even though there are fewer cars in existence than guns. In 2017, there were 253,000,000 cars in existence and 41,000 auto deaths.
Nonetheless, the rhetoric is so loud and the anger so tightly wound that a way forward needs to begin. Genuinely good people on both sides of this issue disagree. Pro-gun people believe that owning a gun is one step of many in helping to keep their families safe and their government from becoming too tyrannical. Anti-gun people believe that the mere existence of a gun is a danger to all. But note that both sets of people desire safety in general.
With very little expertise, but with a robust research ability, my staff and I began looking at this issue this week from the perspective of what could be done that would be tangible, but also acceptable to both sides of the discussion. Here’s seven simple steps that can and should be implemented overnight across the country and in similar fashion school shootings would be eliminated. This list is not exhaustive but is a starting point where good-willed people can come together to make a significant difference now.
This maintains such common sense it's impossible to believe that it doesn’t already happen. This is a bigger failure in the era of post-Columbine than the popularity of the AR-15. How do the largest schools in our nation (Stoneman Douglas is one of the largest at over 3,000 students) not have access points controlled through a metal detector daily? Our courts, government buildings, airports, sports stadiums, conventions, and plenty of other public gatherings demand them.
2. Enforce Everything: Oddly those calling for more laws to be added to the already overly tufted books of law regarding firearms may not realize just how many laws already exist. Simple enforcement of existing laws would cut down on uncounted numbers of people owning guns, possessing guns, and utilizing guns. This is particularly true in the area of those with mental health issues. Begin doing what laws already state must be done, and do so like our children’s lives depend on it.
3. Perform Active Shooter Drills: In many school districts in the nation earthquake drills are performed. No children have died in earthquakes at an American school in years but the drills go forward. “Sequester and Hide” (and then get your cell phone out and begin "facebook-LIVE-ing”) should be replaced with “Barricade, Attack, & Survive.” Young people should be aware of how quickly they can move a teacher’s desk and their own to protect against a shooter. These should be practiced and drilled at minimum in comparison to earthquake drills.
4. Reinforce Doors, Windows, Buses, Locks: Though these things left to themselves were installed and still did not stop the shooter at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut, they are able to stop some of the carnage. At the Stoneman Douglas high school, the shooter attempted to shoot through the reinforced glass of the classrooms in an attempt to shoot victims outside the building, but was unable to because of the technology of the glass. That piece of hardened, thickened glass saved lives.
5. Recruit Retired Military & Law Enforcement: The number of qualified public safety professionals that live in our communities is surprising. These friends and neighbors have already received certification and weapons training. Most of them (unless they become criminals) are already allowed to own, possess, and carry firearms. Having them operate the access points at all schools, check every backpack and bag carried onto the premises, and engage every threat be it a firearm, a pocketknife or any other form of contraband — would not only ensure a safer school campus, but also a more rule following, law abiding one. Drugs, porn, and other forms of disruptive materials would be filtered out of the school campus environment on the threat of being discovered every day by the school security professional.
6. Arm All Appropriate Personnel: Giving teachers, coaches, and administrators (only the ones who wish to) the right to protect themselves on campus is a backstop to all other methods. But it is a genuine deterrent nonetheless. If only 5-10% of staff were also armed, certified, and properly trained, there would be no threat that first got through the detectors, security professionals, and the hallways that would still be allowed complete and utter access to the student body. Instead of a coach taking bullets, giving up his life to protect his students, numbers of teachers and coaches would be ready to confront any threat that made it to their area of the campus.
7. Publicize Consequence: The mere knowledge of this list of obstacles to any attacker may not completely dissuade them. But since it was readily apparent that this list of steps would have actually saved some if not all of the lives in Florida this week, one thing can be easily understood. Any individual who decides to try something under these guidelines runs a much larger threat of being caught, captured, and killed if he tries it. So talk about it openly. Do the drills, teach the kids to fight for their own survival, tell the predators in advance that if they choose to attack a school it is open war on them, and before they ever have the chance to enter the facility the daunting challenge they will face will likely be a price too steep for them to be willing to pay.
Israel has already put some of these steps into practice and the nation has seen almost zero school attacks since adopting them.
None of these steps infringe upon law-abiding people’s Second Amendment rights.
All of these steps attempt to stop and engage mentally ill or deliberately belligerent attackers.
This list would make an immediate impact on every school that adopts them.
No common sense American can deny their effectiveness.
Our kids are worth it!
Idea i saw on FR yesterday...put gun safes in every classroom...let ccw teachers keep their guns there...let potential perps guess which classrooms have guns in safes and which dont.
I don’t disagree with you, although your statement that no one would have considered bringing a gun to school contradicts the many your age and older who said people often had guns or knives, they just didn’t attack others with them.
However, you are talking about a drastic change in society, not a “simple step” for anything. When a society has lost its moral bearing, when there are powerful forces in place that want this and more of the same ... nothing is simple.
How many of those gun deaths were Suicides?
You have the right idea. With today's technology, there is no reason to force hundreds of kids into a single space to learn what they need to learn. The internet provides ample assistance and access to web-designed schooling that kids can go through at their own pace and from the comfort and safety of home. Yes, there are a few hands-on type courses that require attendance, but the vast majority of education should be converted to web-based applications.
I also think there needs to be a law ensuring that the family of a shooter be held responsible. Families who have a disturbed family member should not own guns. It’s tempting fate. If they have an immediate family member who is mentally ill or who has cognitive challenges, they should accept that they cannot own a gun. If they choose to own a gun anyway, they need to suffer legal consequences if their gun is used for violence.
The Sandy Hook shooter should NEVER have been exposed to guns, and neither should this latest disturbed person. There were so many signs along the way that these shooters had mental and emotional disturbances.
That is all true, but unfortunately many do pass the background checks. Until that becomes stricter not much will change
“1. Metal Detectors In Every School: This maintains such common sense it’s impossible to believe that it doesn’t already happen.”
Um, school shooters would simply shoot the person operating the metal detector first and continue on.
THAT is common sense. Metal detectors are not.
If you think you need metal detectors then you’ve got a bigger problem than you are addressing.
“Take the instant personal fame out of the equation, and the motivation will drop to nil.”
Unfortunately, social media allows the fame before they take their first shot.
Yes, they are. A radio talk show host in Atlanta talked about most of these same ideas and added computer monitors inside the school with every access entry watched by camera and manned every single hour of the school day.
I wish I had the radio host’s name but I’m not a regular listener - only when I’m running errands and am in the car. It’s not a household name...
Excellent.
To clarify.. one guarded entry point once school is in session i.e. after everyone is inside... figured that obvious.
There ARE online K-12 schools.
So true...The devil is always in the details...
They will require some effort, and no little expense...About like the effort already employed in other public buildings, or in protecting the elites on Capitol Hill...
Respectfully, I believe he meant straightforward, if not exactly simple...Cheers!
Then maybe the public execution should be posted on Facebook, and live-streamed on YouTube...With mandatory watching in every middle school and high school classroom in the nation...
People once upon a time took their kids to view a hanging for good reason...A lesson if not always learned, seldom forgotten...
Many people have many sensible suggestions which would make an attack less likely or less harmful. I doubt any of them will be implemented.
When I was a kid scared straight was a tv show
it took troubled kids to jails to talk to inmates.
After seeing what jail was like I tried real hard to
be good. maybe we should be showing that show to all kids
at lease let them know what jail is like . then they can decide before they become criminals.
Why not ask parents to volunteer as armed security?
Vet them for psychological stability, train them in response protocols, and let them take duty on their off days with an open schedule. They’ll even watch each other. My workplace has been using this program with first responders for almost twenty years, and it works beautifully.
Voila! Committed security force for FREE!
Why?
We can't!
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