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No, Sidwell Friends School has no armed guards [We Obama critics were wrong on this one]
Washington Post ^ | January 18, 2013 | Valerie Strauss

Posted on 01/20/2013 6:49:30 PM PST by grundle

The National Rifle Association is airing a television ad (and has on its website this four-minute video) that says the private school that President Obama’s daughters attend, Sidwell Friends School, has 11 armed guards. It doesn’t.

In fact, it has no armed guards. My Post colleague Glenn Kessler, who writes The Fact Checker column, wrote about the issue here and quoted Ellis Turner, associate head of Sidwell Friends, as saying: “Sidwell Friends security officers do not carry guns.”

Parents and students say they have never seen one either.

The president’s children are protected by Secret Service agents, which is required by federal law, but that is not the same thing as armed school resource officers.

The Fact Checker, who hands out “Pinocchios” depending on how accurate — or inaccurate — a particular story is, gave the NRA and its ad the worst possible rating, four Pinocchios. Whereas three Pinocchios are given for “significant factual error and/or obvious contradictions,” four Pinocchios are given for “whoppers.”

(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...


TOPICS: Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: guncontrol; obamafamily; schoolsecurity; sidwellfriends; usss
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I love criticizing Obama when he's wrong, as I showed in this FR thread.

However, it turns out that I, and many others here, were wrong about Obama's daughters' school employing armed guard. We should be willing to humbly admit that we were wrong on this issue, and try not to make mistakes of this nature in the future.

1 posted on 01/20/2013 6:49:43 PM PST by grundle
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To: grundle

Jury is still out for me. I never consider the Washington Post a good source for accurate info.


2 posted on 01/20/2013 6:52:40 PM PST by Josa
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To: grundle
However, it turns out that I, and many others here, were wrong about Obama's daughters' school employing armed guard.

Given that the source is the long-discredited Washington Post, is their assertion on this mattter really the truth?

3 posted on 01/20/2013 6:52:40 PM PST by re_nortex (DP...that's what I like about Texas.)
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To: grundle
"“Sidwell Friends security officers do not carry guns.” "

...since Wednesday.

4 posted on 01/20/2013 6:52:51 PM PST by 1_Rain_Drop
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To: grundle

I would go with this saying “trust but verified”, knowing this is from the Washington Post.


5 posted on 01/20/2013 6:53:19 PM PST by Biggirl ("Jesus talked to us as individuals"-Jim Vicevich/Thanks JimV!)
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To: grundle

I’m not a fan of the armed guards idea for all schools but the simple fact is that the secret service protects those girls and are very much armed even if the school isn’t.


6 posted on 01/20/2013 6:54:02 PM PST by cripplecreek (REMEMBER THE RIVER RAISIN!)
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To: grundle

>>We should be willing to humbly admit that we were wrong on this issue, and try not to make mistakes of this nature in the future.

OMG...we are our own worst enemy. We find ourselves in a bar fight and we’re shouting “fight fair” as we get beat to death with bar stools and beer bottles. Read “Rules for Radicals” and realize that WE are the radicals now.


7 posted on 01/20/2013 6:55:50 PM PST by Bryanw92 (Sic semper tyrannis)
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To: grundle
"“Sidwell Friends security officers do not carry guns.” "

But they are readily available should the need arise.

8 posted on 01/20/2013 6:57:02 PM PST by VeniVidiVici (Bathhouse Barry wants YOU to bend over for another four years)
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To: grundle

I looked up jobs that were open at the time this came out - they do have licensed special police officers, and they have to be licensed to carry guns....


9 posted on 01/20/2013 6:57:26 PM PST by porter_knorr
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To: re_nortex

They have an entire armed contingent that follows the Obana’s kids around just like he has, as well as other congress critters.


10 posted on 01/20/2013 6:57:55 PM PST by stubernx98 (cranky, but reasonable)
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To: grundle

Why would the school need to hire armed guards when the secret service is armed and at the school.


11 posted on 01/20/2013 7:00:24 PM PST by HollyB
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To: grundle

Notice that they are careful not to say that there are no armed personnel, just that the school itself doesn’t emply any armed guards. All the armed guards are employed by the federal government.


12 posted on 01/20/2013 7:01:05 PM PST by Blood of Tyrants (The only thing that Hollywood gets right about guns is that criminals will always get them.)
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To: HollyB

So...the school is already armed by the SS.


13 posted on 01/20/2013 7:01:23 PM PST by HollyB
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To: grundle
Now if we could get the Washington Post and other liberal rags to be this diligent in investigating Fast and Furious!

These “Journalists” are such A-holes!

14 posted on 01/20/2013 7:01:44 PM PST by Artcore
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To: grundle

I think I saw another version that said that SOME of the guards are ex-police, and may carry arms. I, too, wish that we could have a news source on this that we could trust.

I presume from the name of the school that it was originally founded by Quakers, and may still have some of that element in it. Quakers have a history of refusing all violence, including self defense.

It still appears to have Quaker connections, although I can’t vouch for their position today on such matters. They did apparently bend the basic Quaker rules sufficiently far to take Obama’s kids, knowing that if they did the school would be surrounded by armed Secret Service agents:

http://www.sidwell.edu/about_sfs/quaker-values/index.aspx


15 posted on 01/20/2013 7:02:22 PM PST by Cicero (Marcus Tullius)
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To: grundle

May I suggest the possibility that, when the daughters of the President are attending a school, the security is actually managed and dictated by the Secret Service and all armed personnel are ONLY Secret Service. IMHO - When the Secret Service is guarding a principal and the only other person in the room or area is a local cop or security guard, that cop or guard is then considered, by default, the greatest threat.


16 posted on 01/20/2013 7:02:44 PM PST by LZ_Bayonet ( I AM THE TEA PARTY LEADER !)
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To: grundle
“Sidwell Friends security officers do not carry guns.”

So they keep them in their cars? I'd parse every word on this one.

Nevertheless, let's assume it's true. They've just advertised that they're a big fat target on any day that 0bama's offspring aren't there.

17 posted on 01/20/2013 7:02:46 PM PST by Slings and Arrows (You can't have IngSoc without an Emmanuel Goldstein.)
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To: grundle

Oh sure!

Now Sidwell will be crawling with mass murderers.


18 posted on 01/20/2013 7:03:31 PM PST by ROCKLOBSTER (Celebrate Republicans Freed the Slaves Month)
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To: grundle

Do the secret service assigned to protect the 2 children carry firearms?


19 posted on 01/20/2013 7:03:45 PM PST by Texas Songwriter (THAT)
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To: grundle

Washington Post, yeah right.


20 posted on 01/20/2013 7:03:54 PM PST by The Cajun (Sarah Palin, Mark Levin......Nuff said.)
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