Kid, school, and guns

News & Current Events Current Events
21

I went to a pretty peaceful school in a low crime town but remember quite a few incidents of kids doing stupid things and boys being boys. Many of which likely broke some law or another. What’s the saying? The average American breaks 3 laws before they get out of bed? At any rate all of those incidences were easily handled with a visit to the principles office or a day or two of detention.

Remember one case in junior high we’re a kid got mad at me for some reason I can’t remember. He hit me, I hit him back and we exchanged a few additional blows. We were separated and got along fine the rest of the year. But I have read of some schools with zero tolerance policies were anyone breaking a rule that could be considered a crime gets carted off by the police. How would throwing me and the other kid in a cell with real criminals make anyone safer?

As for putting SROs in every school. The cost of that would be very high to staff every school in the nation. Most schools are only going to get one SRO. Anyone plotting an attack on a school would be able to easily determine their routine, when they are on break, etc. It would be easy for an attacker to avoid or take out that one SRO.

Plus the vast majority of schools will get by for years if not many decades or longer without needing a SRO on site. It seems far more effective from a cost and uncertainty factor to dissuade potential attackers to have unidentified staff on site and ready to respond if they are ever needed. Much of this could be accomplished with volunteers, donations and some minor equipment fees. With the proper vetting and training responding staff could be more effective than a single SRO or even a couple roving the halls with their sidearms on display.

Though for schools in high crime areas I could see the argument for having a SRO stationed in the school or on school grounds to deal with the daily gang related incidents.

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22

Are junior high kids who do that being put in a jail cell with real criminals? If so, that is something I am not aware of and I will definitely be checking that out.

I agree, unidentified staff on site is good. But I don’t think staff given a gun and bullet proof vests will be unidentified for long. But, regardless, this doesn’t have to be an either/or. Unidentified staff with access to firearms doesn’t have to mean police officers aren’t allowed.

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23

By contrast, I went to a relatively violent school. Lots of racial and class strife, that sort of thing. Lots of fights, gang violence, and weapons, but this was all pre-Columbine and I don’t recall anyone ever dreaming of a mass shooting event. We didn’t have LEOs in the school, but we did have a tough-as-nails assistant principal, and parents were expected to “discipline” their children who misbehaved at school (the term back then was “beat their ass”).

We also didn’t have social media justice warriors challenging the school every time a violent teenager got suspended or expelled. They were just gone.

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24

Agree this doesn’t need to be an either or but do think there are a lot of schools that don’t need SROs but would benefit from having armed and trained staff on site if the incredibly unlikely and unthinkable does happen.

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25

Too much speculation and not enough facts.

But, with zero tolerance policies in effect due to all the actual events that happened. Some are hyper about being risk adverse to future incidences.

At the very least bring any weapons (firearms in particular) or ammunition that implies access to firearms, is in poor judgment given the whole background of prior incidents.

I mean we as duly licensed / permitted adult CCW are prohibited from carrying into a school especially in session with students.

We can hardly get them to make the connection to have a School Resource Officer on site.

They are adamantly against having facility armed in school.

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26

“But our schools shouldn’t look like prisons” “But armed guards is not the answer” “But guns is not the answer” “But anything that is common sense is not the answer.” “But we need more than prayers”

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27

OK, that is several different commonly heard statements, that do not sensibly address the issue of stopping an active shooter from murdering defenseless innocent people in mass.

To stop a bad guy with a gun, since it has an extended reach, you need a good guy with a gun, that has at least the same reach.

Schools are “Gun Free Zones” that are prohibited to all except law enforcement from carrying firearms.

Most schools have one (SRO) School Resource Officer for the entire school.

(CCW) Concealed Carry Weapon Permit holders are not allowed to bring their gun into gun free zones unless they are an acceptable exception, (state, and national parks for example).

Of course, criminals do not abide by any rules, or laws, so they also violate this.

The one SRO can only be one place at a time even while roaming.

If an intruder enters at a distance point, the SRO must cover that distance to respond to that threat.

A lot of victims could get shot in that time.

Having a few armed staff for backup on site widely scattered could mitigate that.

But, even where that is legislated (TN), school districts have not opted in to arm any staff. (Voluntary, with strict requirements).

Universities usually have a police department to protect the campus community.

But, most other schools are still vulnerable to an active shooter scenario, by any determined bad actor who is not deterred, and often is suicidal.

In fact that may be the goal of their agenda, to get killed by forcing that to stop them from killing others.

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28

Unfortunately it has become all too increasingly common. Maybe random in the totality of all schools but, still a real possibility.

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29

Oh I agree with you, I’ve had that argument plenty of times with people.

I’ve told them why not make schools instead of prisons but like Baseball Stadiums.

Go through the security gate, the metal detectors, go through a bag check, get your ticket scanned and you’re in. People get drunk and have a good time with over 30,000 people in one area having a good time watching Basebal, and it’s nothing like a prison.

School can be just the same.

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30

With the growing peaceful religion in our society, they think nothing of slaughtering kids they think belong to “the other side”. They murder each other as often as the infidel. Women, children and the elderly are easy targets that pose little to no danger back at them. We have become soft and weak; and they know it!

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