If were going to speak intelligently about the phenomenon of school shootings, it must be noted that it is nowhere near as prevalent as other forms of violent crime, despite the misleading data from the media. Far more people die every year from attacks by hammer-wielding psychopaths than by mass shooters targeting schools.
The only reason we are still having this discussion is because of the lies from the media and the illegitimate political agenda of the left, which is to create a command and control society where no one has the authority or the power to challenge them.
Period.
However, school shootings do happen- and they are indescribably horrific. As we are fond of saying- if we cannot protect the children- then what good are we?
Teachers are often not talked about much when it comes to these school shootings, but they should be. Teachers have a keen interest in protecting the children they spend hours with, teaching day after day.
In October of 2019, Presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg appeared in Iowa at the UFCW Presidential Forum in Altoona. Not surprisingly, he brought up the subject of school shootings. As if the phenomenon is so prevalent that children are living in the equivalent of a war zone- Buttigieg told the crowd, “A 14-year-old girl I met on the campaign trail said she hugs her family and tells them goodbye every morning before she goes to school because she is afraid she might not come home.”
Now, if you believed there is a significant chance your child would not return alive from public school, why on Earth would you not pull that child out of school and teach them at home?
As informed self-defense advocates, we understand that a soft target is a likely target. Ordinarily, we assume that most public school teachers do not understand that logic. But many, in fact, do. In Altoona, Iowa- this is demonstrably the case.
After Buttigieg’s visit, former Texas school principal, Mark Leuschner told local reporters, “After Columbine and other mass shootings, there was a lot of concern, particularly in the rural parts of Texas and how we would handle a mass shooting.”
The school board surveyed teachers in the area to discover what the prevailing attitude among educators was concerning arming teachers and hardening public schools against attack.
The response came back with more than 95% of teachers having reported that they were in favor of arming certain teachers. In fact, they showed a very mature attitude about the idea. The teachers responded that those educators most willing to pursue gun safety and efficacy training should be the ones allowed to be armed.
Leuschner said, “Teachers who would be armed would have to go through a specific training, a psychological evaluation, and meet other preconditions.” We find this to be very encouraging.
It makes perfect sense that teachers would have to pass through additional hoops to prove they are sufficiently responsible and competent to carry a firearm around children every day. Another solution we favor is armed guards who do not interact with students, but are authorized only to guard them.
Time will tell whether real solutions like these will ever materialize.
