Before the horrible events of February 14th, I was ambivalent as to what to do about these mass shootings in schools. But now I am forced acknowledge an unpleasant reality; mass shootings have now become an unfortunate, ugly fact of life.
I don’t want it to be true, but it is. We have to face facts; this is going to happen again. And again, and again. And once we admit it will happen again, it is our moral duty to PREPARE for it, not PREVENT it. Why do I say that? Because preventing these types of mass killings all rests on theoretical solutions.
In other words, one Senator has a THEORY we can prevent this from happening with stricter gun legislation. An Activist has a THEORY we can avoid this with more funding for mental health clinics. A college professor had a THEORY this is all caused by psychotropic drugs. Look, we honestly don’t know why this happens so how exactly do we fix it? Do we go right to the source of the problem? How when we don’t even know what that source is?
I’ve heard a THEORY these mass shootings are a direct result of so many fatherless homes. Part of me agrees with this but here’s the thing, so what? If fatherless households are the problem, then I don’t see this issue turning around anytime soon. What it would take to reverse this demographic trend is beyond me and even if some genius came up with the solution how long would it take it to implement and fix the problem? Fifty years? Your guess is as good as mine.
These are all theories. Educated guesses. Quite frankly, shots in the dark.
While Scientists and Social Workers try to figure out where this type of insanity comes from the rest of us can take steps to prepare for it. Because like I said, THIS IS GOING TO HAPPEN AGAIN.
I’d love to hear feedback from others with sound reasoning to improve what I have written here because, so far, singing ‘Imagine’ a couple of hundred times while holding a candle hasn’t worked out all that great.
Why do we have smoke alarms, sprinklers and fire extinguishers in schools? To prepare for the possible disaster a fire might break out and, if one does, shorten its duration. Thereby saving lives. Do we waste our time demanding laws are passed, and regulations tightened on anything that’s flammable? In a ridiculous attempt to make sure a fire “never happens again?” No, that’s absurd. We acknowledged the fact we can’t live in a fireproof world years ago and dealt with that reality.
With that being said here is my plan for dealing with future mass shootings in our public schools;
- No one should be able to enter a school at will if they are not a student or employee. Some system must be in place, so anyone entering a school needs permission first from the main office. The technology exists to accomplish this with intercoms and security cameras easily.
- If possible, doors should be constructed to be bulletproof. I don’t know what it would take to accomplish this but if a teacher could close the door to a classroom and lock it knowing a shooter cannot possibly get in that would at least ensure the safety of the students inside.
- At least 15 to 20 members of the faculty and staff of every school should have immediate access to a firearm. Along with professional training from the Police Department or some other worthy institution.
- The local police department will have a list on hand with all the names and cell phone numbers of every armed staff member along with their photograph. This document will be available in the event of an emergency.
- Every staff member will have an emergency APP on their phone alerting them to the danger. Maybe even updating them on the current location of the shooter. This APP would enable staff to coordinate with one another quickly and QUIETLY. For example; if a teacher is hiding behind a desk they could text their location and situation to others without making a sound.
I said faculty and staff should have immediate access to firearms. That doesn’t mean ‘Conceal & Carry.’ Much the same way a fire hose is behind glass marked, “In case of Fire Break Glass,” all sanctioned weapons on school grounds should be stored in individual lock boxes, possibly hidden in teacher’s desks. Perhaps some other spot in a classroom, as long as sanctioned personal can get to them quickly in case of emergency. Selected staff members would have a key to these lock boxes. For safety reasons every gun may have a trigger lock as well, but this is a side issue. The chosen staff members would have all the keys necessary to unlock the hidden firearm and be ready to defend children within a minute with the proper training.
More weapons can be stored in the teacher’s lounge or principal office. Along with protective gear.
Obviously, there must be some system in place to alert all personal there is an Active Shooter on campus. Possibly a specific sounding siren. We have the technology to make coordination between armed personnel possible with the emergency APP I mentioned before. Upon hearing this alarm all faculty and staff would activate this APP on their phones. Then follow established emergency procedures for dealing with an active shooter situation. What these procedures are will have to be determined by the school system and the county.
It should be a known fact to the student body that 15 to 20 adults in their school are armed and trained for action but not know who they are. The identities of the armed and trained staff members must remain a secret, so a potential shooter does not know who is and isn’t armed. This will make planning a possible assault much more difficult.
Here is my reasoning. If a deranged human being wants to commit a mass killing, he will be forced to evaluate targets. If he knows there are 20 armed and trained staff at a school, it will be apparent the likelihood of success is vastly reduced. If the goal is to kill as many people as possible, then the school no longer poses a ripe target. It will merely be scratched off the list of potential targets.
You may call me naive, but even deranged maniacs tend to think in tactical, black & white terms. If your goal is a massive death toll and terror then attacking a school will become a less likely option. After all, you might take out one or two armed staff members, but that still leaves you heavily outgunned and guarantees failure. It’s just simple math. One person with a gun cannot defeat twenty with a gun.
Spare me the “what if this” and “what if that” scenarios. My logic is sound. A mass shooter will look for a “soft target.” If a school no longer fits in that category, it loses all appeal. These guys are out for carnage and ABOVE ALL ELSE FAME. Even the slightest chance a librarian or school custodian could drop them is enough to dent their already damaged psyche.
There should be no debate on this. Rather than endless discussion, everything I said should be tried first as a test case. For example, let’s say twenty states implement my plan. After five to ten years we’ll see how many mass school shootings happen in those states and how many happen in others.
If I am wrong and there is no change then so be it. We abandon the plan and look for another solution.
If I am right and we see a difference (or specifically a mass shooter is stopped quickly), then we admit this works and use it nationwide.
Let’s just TRY IT instead of endless bickering and magical ‘pie in the sky’ theories!
And do I believe my plan is perfect? NO, absolutely not. In fact, I’m confident it has flaws, and there are things I overlooked. If you see one, please point it out. OIt is obvious this idea, like any other, needs work. I’d love to hear feedback from others with sound reasoning to improve what I have written here because, so far, singing ‘Imagine’ a couple of hundred times while holding a candle hasn’t worked out all that great. Let’s get real people.