Hypocrisy: An armed cop in every school

[Sfrandolph]

I hesitated to weigh in on this topic, but feel another opinion is warranted. I am over 60. I have had two children go through the school system and now have three grandchildren going through. Whether we have off duty police officers or retired vets guarding our schools makes no difference to me. Both are citizens of our communities. They are not federal employees and shouldn't be. All the schools in my county are gun free zones and police free zones. Therein lies the problem. Police response time is the issue. The on duty officers can't be there in a split second. In some communities, I think it would be advantageous to have volunteer trained citizens or trained teachers/administrators to provide security. But leaving the schools naked of any security is short sighted. It is just inviting problems. And no, I don't think this would promote the police state. The individuals on duty would be there ONLY to provide security when one of the whack jobs come on the campus to cause chaos and death.

And as far as the NRA statement, it was a statement showing bold leadership. Note that you haven't heard anything definitive from the White House. At least LaPierre is putting something on the table right now. Not 2 months down the road after the politicians get to blur the facts and push agendas.

 

[Trooper]

NRA PRESS CONFERENCE

12/21/2012

The National Rifle Association's 4 million mothers, fathers, sons and daughters join the nation in horror, outrage, grief and earnest prayer for the families of Newtown, Connecticut ... who suffered such incomprehensible loss as a result of this unspeakable crime.

Out of respect for those grieving families, and until the facts are known, the NRA has refrained from comment. While some have tried to exploit tragedy for political gain, we have remained respectfully silent.

Now, we must speak ... for the safety of our nation's children. Because for all the noise and anger directed at us over the past week, no one — nobody — has addressed the most important, pressing and immediate question we face: How do we protect our children right now, starting today, in a way that we know works?
The only way to answer that question is to face up to the truth. Politicians pass laws for Gun-Free School Zones. They issue press releases bragging about them. They post signs advertising them.

And in so doing, they tell every insane killer in America that schools are their safest place to inflict maximum mayhem with minimum risk.

How have our nation's priorities gotten so far out of order? Think about it. We care about our money, so we protect our banks with armed guards. American airports, office buildings, power plants, courthouses — even sports stadiums — are all protected by armed security.
[Note this part. Why secure these places and not schools?]

We care about the President, so we protect him with armed Secret Service agents. Members of Congress work in offices surrounded by armed Capitol Police officers.
Yet when it comes to the most beloved, innocent and vulnerable members of the American family — our children — we as a society leave them utterly defenseless, and the monsters and predators of this world know it and exploit it. That must change now!

The truth is that our society is populated by an unknown number of genuine monsters — people so deranged, so evil, so possessed by voices and driven by demons that no sane person can possibly ever comprehend them. They walk among us every day. And does anybody really believe that the next Adam Lanza isn't planning his attack on a school he's already identified at this very moment?

How many more copycats are waiting in the wings for their moment of fame — from a national media machine that rewards them with the wall-to-wall attention and sense of identity that they crave — while provoking others to try to make their mark?
A dozen more killers? A hundred? More? How can we possibly even guess how many, given our nation's refusal to create an active national database of the mentally ill?
And the fact is, that wouldn't even begin to address the much larger and more lethal criminal class: Killers, robbers, rapists and drug gang members who have spread like cancer in every community in this country. Meanwhile, federal gun prosecutions have decreased by 40% — to the lowest levels in a decade.

So now, due to a declining willingness to prosecute dangerous criminals, violent crime is increasing again for the first time in 19 years! Add another hurricane, terrorist attack or some other natural or man-made disaster, and you've got a recipe for a national nightmare of violence and victimization.

And here's another dirty little truth that the media try their best to conceal: There exists in this country a callous, corrupt and corrupting shadow industry that sells, and sows, violence against its own people.

Through vicious, violent video games with names like Bulletstorm, Grand Theft Auto, Mortal Kombat and Splatterhouse. And here's one: it's called Kindergarten Killers. It's been online for 10 years. How come my research department could find it and all of yours either couldn't or didn't want anyone to know you had found it?

Then there's the blood-soaked slasher films like "American Psycho" and "Natural Born Killers" that are aired like propaganda loops on "Splatterdays" and every day, and a thousand music videos that portray life as a joke and murder as a way of life. And then they have the nerve to call it "entertainment."

But is that what it really is? Isn't fantasizing about killing people as a way to get your kicks really the filthiest form of pornography?

In a race to the bottom, media conglomerates compete with one another to shock, violate and offend every standard of civilized society by bringing an ever-more-toxic mix of reckless behavior and criminal cruelty into our homes — every minute of every day of every month of every year.

A child growing up in America witnesses 16,000 murders and 200,000 acts of violence by the time he or she reaches the ripe old age of 18.

And throughout it all, too many in our national media ... their corporate owners ... and their stockholders ... act as silent enablers, if not complicit co-conspirators. Rather than face their own moral failings, the media demonize lawful gun owners, amplify their cries for more laws and fill the national debate with misinformation and dishonest thinking that only delay meaningful action and all but guarantee that the next atrocity is only a news cycle away.

The media call semi-automatic firearms "machine guns" — they claim these civilian semi-automatic firearms are used by the military, and they tell us that the .223 round is one of the most powerful rifle calibers ... when all of these claims are factually untrue. They don't know what they're talking about!

Worse, they perpetuate the dangerous notion that one more gun ban — or one more law imposed on peaceful, lawful people — will protect us where 20,000 others have failed!

As brave, heroic and self-sacrificing as those teachers were in those classrooms, and as prompt, professional and well-trained as those police were when they responded, they were unable — through no fault of their own — to stop it.

As parents, we do everything we can to keep our children safe. It is now time for us to assume responsibility for their safety at school. The only way to stop a monster from killing our kids is to be personally involved and invested in a plan of absolute protection. The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. Would you rather have your 911 call bring a good guy with a gun from a mile away ... or a minute away?

Now, I can imagine the shocking headlines you'll print tomorrow morning: "More guns," you'll claim, "are the NRA's answer to everything!" Your implication will be that guns are evil and have no place in society, much less in our schools. But since when did the word "gun" automatically become a bad word?

A gun in the hands of a Secret Service agent protecting the President isn't a bad word. A gun in the hands of a soldier protecting the United States isn't a bad word. And when you hear the glass breaking in your living room at 3 a.m. and call 911, you won't be able to pray hard enough for a gun in the hands of a good guy to get there fast enough to protect you.

So why is the idea of a gun good when it's used to protect our President or our country or our police, but bad when it's used to protect our children in their schools?
They're our kids. They're our responsibility. And it's not just our duty to protect them — it's our right to protect them.

You know, five years ago, after the Virginia Tech tragedy, when I said we should put armed security in every school, the media called me crazy. But what if, when Adam Lanza started shooting his way into Sandy Hook Elementary School last Friday, he had been confronted by qualified, armed security?

Will you at least admit it's possible that 26 innocent lives might have been spared? Is that so abhorrent to you that you would rather continue to risk the alternative?
Is the press and political class here in Washington so consumed by fear and hatred of the NRA and America's gun owners that you're willing to accept a world where real resistance to evil monsters is a lone, unarmed school principal left to surrender her life to shield the children in her care? No one — regardless of personal political prejudice — has the right to impose that sacrifice.

Ladies and gentlemen, there is no national, one-size-fits-all solution to protecting our children. But do know this President zeroed out school emergency planning grants in last year's budget, and scrapped "Secure Our Schools" policing grants in next year's budget.

With all the foreign aid, with all the money in the federal budget, we can't afford to put a police officer in every school? Even if they did that, politicians have no business — and no authority — denying us the right, the ability, or the moral imperative to protect ourselves and our loved ones from harm.

Now, the National Rifle Association knows that there are millions of qualified active and retired police; active, reserve and retired military; security professionals; certified firefighters and rescue personnel; and an extraordinary corps of patriotic, trained qualified citizens to join with local school officials and police in devising a protection plan for every school. We can deploy them to protect our kids now. We can immediately make America's schools safer — relying on the brave men and women of America's police force.

The budget of our local police departments are strained and resources are limited, but their dedication and courage are second to none and they can be deployed right now.
I call on Congress today to act immediately, to appropriate whatever is necessary to put armed police officers in every school — and to do it now, to make sure that blanket of safety is in place when our children return to school in January.
Before Congress reconvenes, before we engage in any lengthy debate over legislation, regulation or anything else, as soon as our kids return to school after the holiday break, we need to have every single school in America immediately deploy a protection program proven to work — and by that I mean armed security.
Right now, today, every school in the United States should plan meetings with parents, school administrators, teachers and local authorities — and draw upon every resource available — to erect a cordon of protection around our kids right now. Every school will have a different solution based on its own unique situation.
Every school in America needs to immediately identify, dedicate and deploy the resources necessary to put these security forces in place right now. And the National Rifle Association, as America's preeminent trainer of law enforcement and security personnel for the past 50 years, is ready, willing and uniquely qualified to help.
Our training programs are the most advanced in the world. That expertise must be brought to bear to protect our schools and our children now. We did it for the nation's defense industries and military installations during World War II, and we'll do it for our schools today.

The NRA is going to bring all of its knowledge, dedication and resources to develop a model National School Shield Emergency Response Program for every school that wants it. From armed security to building design and access control to information technology to student and teacher training, this multi-faceted program will be developed by the very best experts in their fields.

Former Congressman Asa Hutchinson will lead this effort as National Director of the National School Shield Program, with a budget provided by the NRA of whatever scope the task requires. His experience as a U.S. Attorney, Director of the Drug Enforcement Agency and Undersecretary of the Department of Homeland Security will give him the knowledge and expertise to hire the most knowledgeable and credentialed experts available anywhere, to get this program up and running from the first day forward.
If we truly cherish our kids more than our money or our celebrities, we must give them the greatest level of protection possible and the security that is only available with a properly trained — armed — good guy.

Under Asa's leadership, our team of security experts will make this the best program in the world for protecting our children at school, and we will make that program available to every school in America free of charge.
That's a plan of action that can, and will, make a real, positive and indisputable difference in the safety of our children — starting right now.

There'll be time for talk and debate later. This is the time, this is the day for decisive action.

We can't wait for the next unspeakable crime to happen before we act. We can't lose precious time debating legislation that won't work. We mustn't allow politics or personal prejudice to divide us. We must act now.

For the sake of the safety of every child in America, I call on every parent, every teacher, every school administrator and every law enforcement officer in this country to join us in the National School Shield Program and protect our children with the only line of positive defense that's tested and proven to work.

 

[gungirl65]

Yesterday morning I received a text from my son stating that there had been a gun/bomb threat posted online the previous night regarding his high school. He said they had brought in SWAT. He said they were not giving out any information but were told everything was fine.

He was not panicked so I didn't panic. Even though I live less than a couple minutes from school, I fought the urge and did not go drive by it. Knowing there is a Sheriff's office in his school gives me peace of mind. These officers know the school intimately so if there were an actual threat they would be better prepared to respond.

I wish there were no need for them to be there but I am thankful they are. I don't care who has the guns for the good guys as long as someone does. I think armed recruiters are a good idea too. I also support the idea of training and arming teachers as well.

I breath easier knowing there are officers in his school and my son and his friends have a chance to be saved if a gunman were to enter the building. It's just like owning a gun, it's better to have the firepower available immediately than it is to have it on the way.

My son has always spoken highly of the officers in his school. Of course he is a good kid and has never been on the receiving end of any school discipline.

When it comes to protecting my child and keeping him safe, I am willing to give up some perceived rights.

http://www.pal-item.com/article/20121221/NEWS01/312210016/Rumors-of-violence-cause-a-stir-at-RHS

 

[Ted]

Citizen soldiers are not military occupation. Rather it would us policing ourselves. The police and fire are the militia. Their roots are from the militia. And if we had mandatory service, not a draft, then it would be into the Guard and not active service.

Soldiers patrolling, making arrests, and with the capability to use deadly physical force within an civilian neighborhoods is by definition, a military occupation.

Military Occupation, defined, as per Webster:

Control and possession of hostile territory that enables an invading nation to establish military government against an enemy or martial law against rebels or insurrectionists in its own territory

Police and Fire are not the militia. They are public servants.

Militia, defined, as per Webster:

1
a : a part of the organized armed forces of a country liable to call only in emergency
b : a body of citizens organized for military service

2
: the whole body of able-bodied male citizens declared by law as being subject to call to military service

The military has a large number of troops trained for police work and for running local government. Army Civil Affairs (CA) are reservists who do everything from running local government to sweeping civilians off of the battlefield. It is their civilian skills that make them important in this mission. Military Police are trained to do law enforcement and to deal with civilians. It would not be hard to take Guard MP officers and NCOs, run them through the state police academy then give them STATE law enforcement powers. If activated, those badges and credentials would go back to the states.

Military trained in police work? What type of police work? Many professional American civilian police aren't adequately trained or don't respect American civil liberties, but you expect that military police to do a job that the civilian government has yet to thoroughly accomplish?

As for Boxer, I am just assuming what she is proposing. I know the law thus it could only be three types of funding. Title 32 covers DHS and state funds. Title 10 is active duty which can not be used under PCA for law enforcement. Of course congress could just change the law and get rid of the PCA.

"The means of defense against foreign danger, have been always the instruments of tyranny at home. Among the Romans it was a standing maxim to excite a war, whenever a revolt was apprehended. Throughout all Europe, the armies kept up under the pretext of defending, have enslaved the people." James Madison, June 1787 at the Constitutional Convention.

Decentralized law enforcement is dangerous enough to liberty. A military occupation upon American soil would place a few more nails in the coffin of the Constitution and the rights of man.

 

[mrjarrell]

 

[Leo]

I fully agree that I do not want federally employed soldiers to be stationed in our public schools. I was trying to match the security need with an available workforce with the needed skill set. Even though the most hated people on earth, Israel, has successfully keep their schools safe from harn since 1974, I do not think our NEA folks would be up to the challenge.

My opinion on allowing honorably discharged soldiers an opportunity to have a job as security was not based on them being under military direction or orders. It was simply having a security job available. Employed by the local school board, overseen by the local superintendent and or principle, like any other employee of the school. Local responsiblity and management, NOT Federal, like it is supposed to be.

 

[Bill of Rights]

As others have said, it is not the job of teachers or school administrators to be police officers. I'm in full agreement with that. It's also not their job to be firefighters, yet they have to know how to use a fire extinguisher and have to do regular fire drills and teach the whole "stop, drop, and roll". It's also not their job to be EMTs or paramedics, yet they have to be certified in CPR and have to know basic first aid, and in some cases, teach both of those to their students, who also are not expected to be fire or medical responders in any professional capacity.
Their job, as the schools have touted for years, is to be "in loco parentis", meaning to serve as the "parent surrogate" (my term) at the location in question. The schools have used this justification for many purposes, all to their benefit, as I see it. Well... it's time to pay the piper, or, to quote the "Uncle Ben Parker" school of thought, "With great power comes great responsibility." If they want to exercise the privileges of parents, making decisions what our children are allowed to do, to see, to think, then along with those privileges goes the responsibility to protect them as we would.
A teacher's job, in time of need, is to protect my child until such time as a professional responder arrives.
If that means carrying them out of the building-on-fire, putting a lip-lock on them to keep them breathing, or herding them into a corner, drawing a weapon and training it on the door, ready to, if necessary, blow a hole in the first criminal SOB to poke his fool head in, I expect them to do that job or provide someone who will. Alternatively, partially take a lesson from the jury pool. Those who are subject to call for jury duty are those who hold a license to drive from the BMV, with certain exemptions. For this purpose, the community members who hold a LTCH would be eligible to volunteer to cover shifts at the schools. This would be an unpaid service.
I recognize and concur with Liberty Sanders' wise counsel: The benefit of armed individuals is in knowing neither their number, identity, nor location. That said, on matters like this, I tend to think belt-and-suspenders. I'd expect at least one weapon in the office. I'd expect a spattering of teachers or other paid personnel (janitorial, maintenance, food service, etc.) and maybe a few "room moms" (or dads) I'd like to see the occasional police officer make a run by the school, much like they do the local Speedway for coffee... No one knows when nor at which location they might arrive.

I don't want to see cops assigned at every school. I want to see CITIZENS, people prepared to deal with bad s*** when it happens, regardless of their particular job title, going about their daily lives and by doing so, serving as the deterrent that prevents rectal orifices like the CT, VA Tech, or Columbine shooters from doing the kinds of things they became infamous for doing, right before the cowards sucked on the barrels of their own guns and air-conditioned their brains.



Blessings,
Bill

 

[Hop]

Damn some of you guys! I have a very vested interest in getting armed protection up and running ASAP. I have a kid in school right now. Ultimately, I'm hoping the schools are FORCED into hiring trained, armed PRIVATE security. Until then I'll take what I can get to avoid any copy cat type of incidents. I don't care if this is done at the Fed or State level. These liberal controlled schools will not comply to allow guns in unless forced by law. At least the NRA's shield plan is better than the stick your head in the sand gun free zone plan.

Don't **** the safety of my kid or I'll **** with you.