I received these pained notes in November and December from Paul Merandi, a machinery dealer in Hauppauge, Long Island. Paul is a thoughtful and sincere guy. I found his postings provocative and affecting. – Lloyd Graff
A comment posted in response to the blog “Gun – No Gun” 10/26/2012
I was raised with guns but do not presently own any. My wife and I chose not to have any in the house with the kids around. For a very long time we would not even let a water pistol into our kids’ hands. That changed with my son, who seemed to have an interest in weapons of all types, while my daughters had none. We gradually softened. We let him experience paintball and permitted the Nerf brand of toy weapons, air-soft type products and some video games into our home. To date, my son has followed the house safety rules.
About three years ago, it became clear that the “games” that he was experiencing were just games and he was not learning a thing about the danger, power, real responsibility and consequences of owning firearms. After much thought, I decided my son needed to see first hand the power that could be put into someone’s hands. While on vacation in Florida a few years back, I took him to an indoor pistol range to see if I could teach him a little more than the toys had.
The experience was well worth the time and effort. My son was able to see, hear and watch what a real firearm can do in the hands of someone with proper training. There were several off-duty policemen at the range and their skill and respect for the weapon were clear, even to a 13-year-old. After a short period of training we were able to rent a small caliber pistol and with me by his side, he shot 100 rounds at paper bulls eyes. We have now done this about six times. Guns are no longer a toy to my 13-year-old. I am not sure what is next for us, but I have enjoyed the time spent with him and the learning experience. I am sure there is a question on his mind that he wants ask – Dad, can I buy a gun? I do not have an answer yet, but my wife and I need to make a decision soon.
A Personal Note to Lloyd 12/27/2012
I meant to send this earlier but “Super Storm Sandy” has put a wrinkle in my time and life for the past few months. A while back, I posted a comment on your blog in reference to gun ownership (see above), and we had a nice chat a few days later. If you recall, I stated that I no longer owned any firearms. That choice was made because my wife and I have three children under our roof.
Well, Sandy has changed that way of thinking. My neighborhood on Long Island was devastated by that monster, and without electricity, natural gas and then even gasoline, life was very bleak. When the night came it was a very scary time, even in my solidly middle class neighborhood. Many, including myself, had generators to produce power for clean-ups, pump-outs, and whatever else you could use electricity for, but at night the gas and generators, if left outside to run in the dark, were a target for predators. In some cases locked gates and doors didn’t matter.
As more time passed and the gas lines got longer you could sense people’s desperation increasing. At one point, I was driving around with three plastic gas cans with between 0-15 gallons of gas and a generator in my Ford Explorer for fear of losing these valued commodities to people that had less than me. I was constantly looking over my shoulder, sleeping with one eye open and wondering what the hell I would do if “they” came for my stuff.
Fortunately, that decision never had to be made. But sometimes at night we heard gunshots, and in the days that followed, we heard the stories. We are slowly rebuilding and are making changes to our home because of our Sandy experience. One change is that there will be a gun purchase. It will most likely be a very reliable pump-type shotgun. It will be kept in some kind of gun safe, high in the garage rafters with a few boxes of shells. My hope is that it never gets any use.
At some point, life will get back to what it was before the storm. Then I will be able to take the Louisville Slugger out from under my bed and put it back in the shed with the other toys.
Please have a healthy, peaceful and storm-free New Year.
-Paul Merandi
Question: Do you believe armed guards should be posted in schools?
36 Comments
Armed guards at schools – as long as the perps try to enter exactly where the armed guards are, it’s a great idea. Unfortunately, most schools have tons of exit doors, all kinds of windows everywhere, and who knows what kind of access exists from the roof?
No matter what we do, no matter how many armed guards, no matter how many teachers armed with weapons, if some whacko wants to do some damage, he’s going to find out how to do that no matter what. He doesn’t play by the same rules we do. He doesn’t care if he dies or not.
What’s the answer? Lots of variations of keeping weapons out of whacko’s hands, getting mental help for whackos, restricting assault weapons, restricting hollow point bullets and other kinds of mass destruction weaponry. Secure our schools as best we can. Probably a combination of all of the above is the answer.
No. However, any teacher who presents a conceal-and-carry permit to the school board, and demonstrates to the principal that they have safe but rapid access to a loaded handgun in the classroom should be granted a $1,000 annual raise as additional “hazardous duty” pay. This would be much more cost effective, provide more “safety in numbers”, and it would be more difficult for a shooter to recognize his opponent than an armed guard.
As with the infamous “911” attacks, Americans need to wake up and face the reality of the world we live in – we are under seige, not only by radical extremists, but by our own frustrated citizenry. We’ll establish new departments (TSA, Department of Homelan Security, etc.) to confront potential threats from the outside world, but it’s time to internalize that mentality to protect the future which is our youth.
I ran across a blog relative to what is being done in Israel to secure their schools; Americans need to realize we are no longer living in a 1950’s style Ozzie and Harriet eutopia and start to think about taking a more direct approach to protecting our youth; here’s the blog:
Americans intent on ensuring a school massacre like the one in Newtown, Conn., never happens again could learn a lot from Israel, where the long menu of precautions includes armed teachers.
The Jewish state, which has long faced threats of terrorist strikes in crowded locations including schools, takes an all-of-the-above approach to safety in the classroom. Fences, metal detectors and armed private guards are part of a strategy overseen by the country’s national police. And the idea of armed teachers in the classroom, which stirred much controversy in the wake of the U.S. attack, has long been in practice in Israel, though a minority of them carry weapons today.
Oren Shemtov, CEO of Israel’s Academy of Security and Investigation, noted that attacks typically happen in a matter of minutes, and said gun-toting teachers could, at the very least, buy time for kids to escape while police race to the scene.
These are very trying times no doubt, but those on the other side of the second ammendment need to realize and admit that law abiding citizens don’t purchase illegal weapons with the intent to commit unspeakable crimes. It’s the sick weak minded criminals that don’t obey the law… isn’t that why we call them criminals? They don’t care about the law while they are intent on committing these horriblr crimes and go out in a blaze of glory. Why is it that we can remember the names of those sickos and don’t know even one name of an innocent child or woman/person. We must focus and develope ways to identify any and all individuals who exhibit symptoms of mental illnes or sociopathic behavior that may lead to such behavior.
Sorry for the rant but YES our children are entitled to any kind of protection… armed guards or teachers qualified and trained with fireamrs to protect our most precious resource, our chilren…. their future.
Wow, I think we need to step back a bit Rick. We’re no more under threat now than we were during the OKC bombings, Waco, Ruby Ridge, the first WTC bombing, the ever present danger of the cold war and communist extremism going all the way back to probably pearl harbor. In fact, if you look at statistics the world is the safest and least violent place it’s ever been since the beginning of human history. The 1950’s society you think existed is a figment of the collective imagination of people who grew up in the 60’s and have a strong sense of nostalgia for their childhood. In 1927 a school was blown up by a disgruntled citizen just miles from where I live. But I thought the world was perfect before 1950? Never mind WWI and WWII right?
I suggest you turn off the fear mongering doom and gloom national news media and take a look at the world around you. I’m not willing to live in a police state which you apparently are. Frankly I find your attitude terrifying. The TSA and DHS are bloated Orwellian bureaucracies, they provide the illusion of security while doing very little to ensure our safety. They are McDonalds employees with badges. I leave you with this quote from Benjamin Franklin-
“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.”
Think about that the next time you’re being abused at the airport. So no, I don’t think we need a TSA for schools. Columbine had an armed police officer on site and look how that turned out?
I live in Texas and many of the urban and suburban school districts have their own police forces. These police are very visible in and around the school at all hours, events (football, school play), and after hours. They carry guns, drive police cars, and coordinate with the local police forces, sheriff, and state police (DPS). Consequently, I would say we already have “armed guards” in our schools. this isystem is effective and I have heard no complaints about their presence from anyone.
I have owned guns all my adult life and have a carry permit (inCalifornia very hard to get) and have never once had to draw it other for target pratice right now I still ahve about 15 gunns had guns, shot guns,rifles I use for hunting and fun shooting so people should always be allowed to wn fire arms if they are abole to under the laws of there state and fed Law.
I recommend that your friend Paul purchase for himself a Browning pump-action shotgun.
Even if he never has to load it, the action bar makes a wonderfully convincing and unmistakable sound like nothing else I have ever owned. It can be heard from many rooms away, even from the other side of a locked door. In the unlikely event that he will ever feel compelled to discharge it, I highly recommend a 2.75″ or 3″ rifled deer slug. They don’t travel very far, and have remarkable stopping power, perfect for household defense in densely populated areas like his “solidly middle-class neighborhood.” The errant shots are unlikely to be picked out of the woodwork of the house 3 blocks down the road.
I’ve received this from several people and I assume it to be true, but even if bogus it shows that a trained individual can some times avert a tragedy. If not a paid police presence then train two responsible people such as the principle say and a teacher with military experience to carry a side arm. I would suggest that the candidates also be large.
Clayton
Media Quiet About San Antonio Theater Shooting
Saturday, December 29, 2012 7:16
On Sunday December 17, 2012, 2 days after the CT shooting, a man went to a restaurant in San Antonio to kill his X-girlfriend. After he shot her, most of the people in the restaurant fled next door to a theater. The gunman followed them and entered the theater so he could shoot more people. He started shooting and people in the theater started running and screaming. It’s like the Aurora , CO theater story plus a restaurant!
Now aren’t you wondering why this isn’t a lead story in the national media along with the school shooting?
There was an off duty county deputy at the theater. SHE pulled out her gun and shot the man 4 times before he had a chance to kill anyone. So since this story makes the point that the best thing to stop a bad person with a gun is a good person with a gun, the media is treating it like it never happened.
Only the local media covered it. The city is giving her a medal next week. Just thought you’d like to know.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/article/Two-wounded-in-theater-shooting-4122668.php#ixzz2GOP72zBX
Yes, bring our men and women home from these UnGodly wars our Presidents for the last 12 years have insisted on fighting and let them watch our children pass safely into the school yards.
Hell, if Obama has people guarding his kids in school why the hell not for ours? Is he better then us? Is he?
Arm the crap out of the schools and dare some butt hole to come on OUR property with any form of mass distruction. It isn’t the gun you need worry about it’s the sick mind that will do this sort of thing. It is the drug pumped up teen ager who was taught that drugs were necessary to attend school who does this type of thing. Blame the doctors.
the young man came in to kill and he did. it was the principle and the psycologist. it could have been a cop with a revolver with one shot at a time against an automatic rifle that shoots 30 to one of the rifle and he was wearing bullet proof armour. who do you think would win? i admit i am a coward what are you?
My earlier comments did not come through, Lloyd could you please check that.
Yes I do believe armed guards should be allowed to be at a school, not certain it has to be 100% and all the time. Please read this article about a man who has been responsible for organizing after school shootings. Please read this article by John Egelhof in the Minneapolis Tribune; http://comments.startribune.com/comments.php?d=content_comments&asset_id=185098771§ion=/opinion/commentaries&comments=true. Thanks!
We put armed guards in trucks to guard our money without any concerns, but many think its absurd to arm teachers to protect our children.
Maybe we should look at this from another angle. Less then 15 years ago, did we have children shooting children problem in schools that we have today? Did we have guns 15 years ago? Are we looking to solve the symptom of childhood anger rather then fixing the problem? Maybe children should not be exposed to what adults are? Maybe there needs to be rules what kids under 16 or 18 years of age should be exposed to, whether it is games or other media.
Perhaps armed guards may be necessary, but the real problem is access to the schools. I call on steel mills and paper mills and cannot get near their buildings if I do not have an appointment. Our kids will not be safe until we limit access to the property first, then the building second, then have a layer of security in the building to manage the visitors within. It does not matter what sort of weapon the intruder has if he cannot get onto the property.
Lloyd, Reading through the letters and recent responses, a few comments from each one hit a nerve that causes me to shudder.
From Paul: “I stated that I no longer owned any firearms. That choice was made because my wife and I have three children under our roof.”
My wife and I have 2 daughters under the roof and I can’t think of a better reason to have a loaded gun to depend on as a last line of defense within reach. I will point out that both of our daughters have been exposed to and trained in proper gun handling and safety, in fact one of them became certified in riflery as a requirement for a summer camp job. A number of years ago we built a new home over 900 feet off a dead end road in a development, tucked back in the woods. One evening I walked at normal pace from the front door to our bedroom, and then from the front door to our daughters rooms. it only took 12 seconds to our room and 16 seconds to the girls. If a bad guy kicked in our door, the alarm would go off and they’d have to get past the 2 dogs…. only to die from lead poisoning.
Law enforcement would not even know any of this was happening for another 60 to 120 seconds. Paul is on the right track seeking out a pump shot gun… but really…. in a safe up in the rafters? 12 seconds is barely enough time to wake up from deep sleep, understand what’s happening and respond. I wouldn’t trade our County Sherriff and his Deputies for any other safety force on earth but, like the t-shirt says “when seconds count, help is only minutes away”.
Trashcup asked “what’s the answer” and offered up some variations..”restricting assault weapons, restricting hollow point bullets and other kinds of mass destruction weaponry”.
How quickly we forget about the event in which heavily armed American citizens used their very own “mass destruction weaponry” to defend their lives and property right here in the USA. Anyone remember watching the LA riots… the Police would not go into certain neighborhoods even if they were called by the very citizens they swore to protect. I remember like it was yesterday watching the Korean store owners pacing along the roof of their shops and grocery stores carrying shotguns and semi-automatic weapons. NOBODY was looting their property while 1 or 2 blocks away stores and shops were emptied and then burned to the ground.
How would restricting anything from law abiding citizens make schools safer? What if the Colorado whacko decided to obey existing gun laws and instead drove a Suburban down the street at high speed right into the moviegoers waiting in line? What if the Newtown whaco drove a truck or a car at a high rate of speed head on into a school bus?
Would hop-along Biden be heading up a committee today to ban or restrict the use of vehicles that weigh more than 3500 pounds? or how about heavy duty guard rails in front of all movie theaters?
As far as I know.. you still don’t need a background check to purchase diesel fuel or fertilizer even though a rented truck blew up in Oklahoma, the blast claimed 168 lives, including 19 children under the age of 6.
To answer the original question, If we are ok with trained, armed persons on aircraft, in banks, New Years Eve at times Square, walking and cruising the streets of our cities, why not in our schools?
I’d really like to look any one of the many talking heads that I’ve seen say “it would just cost way too much to properly secure our schools with additional staff or armed guards” in the eyes and ask them how much is their child’s life worth?
Semi Automatic – you have some very valid points. Thanks for your post.
Yes , I believe ALL schools should have armed guards , As well as any teacher that is comfortable with firearms , And would want to protect those in their care. ( a mandatory firearms course would be part of the provision for a teacher to carry )
I Am sure you heard it said before , That The only way to STOP a bad guy with a gun , Is by a good guy with a gun !!!!!!!! Joseph Waszak.
I am not against hiring off duty cops to patrol schools but as another person wrote-schools are big with a lot of windows and doors. One guy cannot be everywhere. What about factories or businesses where an x-employee goes postal-should there be tax payer provided guards-most employees are moms and dads of the kids in school. Seems like horrific murders bring on copycat horrific murders. If a nut job has a violent reaction to his anti-depression medication and kills a bunch of folks in a crowded amusement park with a box cutter would you be willing to bet that a few more of these type incidents will occur in the near future? Would we ban box cutters? Is a Bushmaster which is built to look like an M-16 but is in fact a semi automatic rifle any different than a semi automatic rifle that was built for deer hunting or other large game? One looks like a hunting rifle with it’s sleek lines and the other looks ominous and dark but neither is capable of full automatic fire. Yes, I would like my granddaughters in a school that has 10 tough cops on patrol inside and out but it’s not going to happen. Who is going to pay for it?
My wife is a 2nd grade teacher who, along with the others on her second grade team, would carry, at their own expense, if the law were changed and training specified here in NY State. Their personalities are such that they would be running to the problem, not away from it. They want the proper tools available.
(I make the point that guns are only tools, just like screw drivers, hammers, golf clubs, cars & wrenches. The proper tool must be at hand to accomplish the job and any tool may be abused.)
On a related note, I would like to see society again be willing to infringe on the rights of the few mentally ill to protect the rights & lives of the many.
You’ll think this cliche but, “When seconds count, the cops (or guards) are only minutes away.”
Yes we need good guns in schools.
We have an armed guard in the bank and thats only money.
We have several armed guards to protect the president. Why is he more important than kids.
I have heard this many times in the last few weeks ” good people with guns can stop bad people with guns” I think thats true.
We here in Canada cannot believe the attitude of the people in the USA towards guns!
I think you should put a gun in the hands of every single adult in the country. When the killings continue, or probably increase, maybe then the NRA’s misguided philosophy will become apparent to the rest of your country.
Armed guards in schools? Shame on you!
Guns to protect the children! How about substituting a little brains. Equip all schools with a centralized surveillance/security system. Remove all outside door handles. All doors should be card or code access. Assign only one official entry. All doors equipped with “panic bars” as now required by law. Assign a roster of parents to attend classes with their children on a rotational basis to assist in conduct and decorum(this will counter the national destruction of family values). Maintain a confidential list of both staff and students receiving treatment for mental disorders. Match gun ownership to this list to obtain a survival coefficient. then go about your life confident that your kids are safe. If you want to bring some value back into your life, get involved. Have your own opinions not those created by some pretty half-ass talking heads and would be profound writers.
And a happy new year to all.
Mass killings of innocent children in schools are not exclusive to the late 20th century and the 21st century, and not exclusive to modern weaponry! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bath_School_disaster
I agree with Josh 100%. The media loves to sensationalize the violence in our society today because that’s what they have to do all day, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, in several different organizations and outlets.
In Illinois, where I reside, the liberal politicians in Springfield are attempting to put through “gun control laws” they call them. But in the end, when you really look at what they want, it does very little to protect anyone, it’s just more “fees, taxes and regulations” to put more cash into their coffers to throw at the Illinois Political Machine. This is what all government’s do when tragedy strikes, whether they are state or federal government.
I thought I missed the core of this debate which asks: Do we want guns in schools. Since it is hardly addressed by the responders, I have come to the conclusion that you all, “don’t give a damn.” If the question is gun ownership and control, then I think we are starting at the wrong place. In a culture, where the annual number of murders exceeds the number of warriors killed in action, in a full scale war is a base line justification for armed self protection. However, that is a passive concept and really is not in play. If we take the political events in Russia in 1919 and bring them up to date in the Progressive culture which starts with FDR but is based on the work of Wilson, the undefinable threat seems to have permeated daily life. There are historical events that reinforce our fears. The evolution of the Storm Troopers of the ’30s, in some minds can be matched to the SEIU and ACORN, the captive media, and entertainment industry which make a joke of the threats are real enough for many to warrant the buying and keeping of guns. Pre WWII there were national and international competitions of shooting skill. This seems to have turned into a personal sport which does not bode well for skilled shooting. The rest of this argument is too long, and a debate on comparative killings is of little value. For the anti-gun people, what can be done to reduce the fears which has created a bull market in the gun industry. Freedom is not really Free.
As a Canadian, looking at this issue from arms length just makes you say “WOW”. Seeing the reply’s to the opening letter makes you wonder if there is something in the water down there. Like author in the opening letter I grew up with guns and don’t currently own one. I don’t feel buying a shotgun for self defense and locking it up in the garage will offer you much protection when it counts, but how do you responsibly and safely store a handgun like Semi-automatic wants to?
In 2003 a young man pointed a gun at me outside of a liquor store in Indianapolis. I wasn’t armed and considering the circumstances, it’s debatable whether I could draw fast enough anyway. I didn’t know if I handed him my wallet if he would have shot me anyway just for kicks, but I had the opportunity to duck out of the way so that’s what I did. One thing I can say to people that want a gun for self defense, The way you think things may go down one day when you need to defend yourself and the way it actually happens are a world apart. Considering the odds of that ever happening again are remote, the event did not make me want to run out and arm myself.
When A tragedy happens I have noticed most people only focus on that event. If you want to look at the big picture and try to reduce shootings overall, everything would have to be put on the table to make any kind of difference, because there are endless ways for people to be injured or killed with a gun.
I have read the 2nd amendment and peoples various interpretations of it, since many use it to push their view. It is disturbing to hear many of the many fanatics jumping up and down yelling about this, these are generally the ones who don’t trust government but blindly accept founding fathers as being the greatest humans to ever walk the earth. They seem forget that an amendment meant to protect against tyrannical government is also there to prevent insurrection.
The typical american attitude seems to be, “I want things to be better, but only as long as I don’t give up anything, because I am right”. Looking at different sides of an argument does not seem to be a strong point down there. (Hmmm, almost sounds like congress doesn’t it?)
While re-banning semi-automatics will make most anti-gunners feel better, it will do little to reduce the number of victims across the country since they only account for a fraction of the total. Still, I guess saving one persons life is worth it. But wait, would the absence of legal semi automatics cost lives? In my exp. a handgun would be first choice in a self defense situation.
Unfortunately I see the idea of teachers carrying as another tragedy in the making. There are enough teachers out there there is bound to be some that are unstable. When one of these teachers drives to work the morning after their partner says they want a divorce, they only need to lock the door behind them to have a room full of victims. I suppose this is no more or less likely to happen than any other tragedy you can think up, but you never know.
Semi -automatic did not detail how they would store their gun in their room, but keeping it within reach for his own safety is also how things can go bad. Being a legal gun owner does not make one a responsible gun owner, and this is probably the area to be most improved when it comes down to it. There are thousands of children injured or killed every year when a child finds dad’s gun. Or their uncles or best friends dad’s Irresponsible storage is stupid, and we all know you can’t fix stupid. Yet these stupid people have the right to own a gun.
I feel bad for all the people that are so paranoid they have to arm themselves to feel safe. I would not like to have to live like that. I also feel bad that there won’t be a solution to this problem. The U.S. is kinds screwed, to bad, it used to be a nice place.
Yes! I want armed personnel in schools.
As to Canadian Steve, I have a small “gun vault” that is 14 inches from my bed. it is lag-bolted to studs in the wall and the bolts are rounded off the prevent an “easy steal”. I place my palm on the top surface and it opens instantly after it reads my fingerprints-MY fingerprints only! If someone kicks my front door in (I live in Illinois so this is NOT out of the realm of possibility because the criminals know this state is for the taking) I only need 3 full seconds to be more than prepared to defend my family.
As for your Indy experience, while you do make a valid point, I personally would rather have the chance to defend myself. We Americans like to go down swinging if we have to go down……..
I wish more than anything that America was not in the state that it is in-BUT IT IS! A gun is an insurance policy and nothing else in my book.
I have home, car and TWO forms of life insurance:)
Did the guns change over the 20 years, or did the kids/society change over the last 20 years? Maybe we should be addressing that, are we going to fix the problem, or the symptom?
I agree with the Canadians in this blog. Americans are f’d up and out of control. The son used his mom’s gun that she had for protection to shoot her(guess the guns didn’t protect her after all). Did anyone see the 60 minutes segment years ago when they talked to kids about gun safety, then hid an unloaded gun in a supply closet and sent each kid to get something from that same closet? Well it was facinating how every kid touched, picked up or played with that gun. Can you imagine that scenario with an influx of guns in school. Sounds scary to me (oh, that’s right, the guns will be locked away safe somewhere. lol). If you want to read a great article about guns and mass shootings, please read this link.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2012/12/14/nine-facts-about-guns-and-mass-shootings-in-the-united-states/
And by the way, why do we need assault weapans with hundred round clips? Sounds excessive to me. I am all for self protection in the home and hunting guns, but senseless killing machines are over the top!
guns don’t kill people,people kill people.an educated to the purpose person would be an enhancement of safety for all.the Swiss have the right idea everyone has a gun and knows how to use it.
I was checking out at Target last weekend when I spied, at direct eye-level, prominently placed on an end cap, roughly 25 copies of the new release movie “Looper.” There, on the front and rear of the packaging, Bruce Willis and some Hollywood “hero” sidekick are shown pointing no fewer than four large, semi-automatic guns at the potential buyer, just a few inches away from the Carmex and the breath mints. I am fatigued that Hollywood is consistently insulated from accountability on this issue, as though by design. We have allowed the film industry, and (more recently) video game lobbies to get an almost complete pass on this. They have made money off of the promotion of gun violence for the past 50 years. Now we are “shocked” that gun violence has permeated (or possibly, overtaken) American culture?
Wake up, people. There are no “unintended consequences.” Hollywood and ‘the left’ are linked by design. ‘Jihad’ is a remarkably patient sport. Are we truly going to allow ourselves to be disarmed by (and against) a tyrannical government simply by virtue of yet another manufactured crisis?
Train every teacher who want’s to in proper use and handling of hand guns. Develop procedures on how to identify ‘crazies’. The world is a dangerous place and those in positions of responsibility need to allways be on the alert for deranged individules.
When growing up in a small town, my brother and I were surrounded by WWII vets. No one except police and the sherriff walked arround with guns; didn’t need to.
My stepdad gave my brother and I our first 22 single shot rifles when we were 12 years old. We would carry our rifles over the handlebars of our bikes as we traveled through town to target practice or shoot sparrows out at the river. When you hold a bird which was living but a few seconds before, you become acutely aware of what life really means. Especially at an early age. The video games and movies of today no longer provide that feedback we experienced at 12 years of age. Add to that the psychological problems in certain individuals and our inability to deal with them, society experiences these events.
The problem isn’t guns. We need to deal with the medical conditions which cause these poeple to go off the edge.
Like Alex Jones!
Why can’t we protect our schools like we protect our Airports?
Recently while riding the ski lift someone I know will try to engage me in the “gun debate”
I reply “Don’t waste your time I have long ago made up my mind.” Since educating people
that already know whats good for everybody else is a waste of time, I change the subject