In my opinion, the sensible solution to stopping school shootings, and which would provide immediate results, is to place an armed security officer in each school. No matter how many laws are passed to prevent it, criminals will always have access to guns. It has been said that the only way to stop a bad guy that has a gun is to provide the school a good guy with a gun. Although those who are lobbying for a gun ban may mean well, they must not understand that a gun ban only restricts law abiding people and will not keep guns out of the hands of criminals. A law making it a crime to be a bad person does not change his disposition to be a bad person.
The sensible next step after providing armed security officers, is to amend the “gun free” school zone laws to allow men and women (including school teachers who so choose), who have a legally issued concealed carry license to carry a concealed weapon when on school grounds. For instance, I have a legally issued concealed carry license. I’m also a Vietnam veteran who is very familiar with and comfortable handling a weapon. I often visit the school where my wife is a teacher. I also visit my grandchildren at the schools where they attend. I always leave my concealed weapon behind because it is presently illegal for me to carry it on school grounds.
No matter how one feels about weapons, the simple fact is that if I, or someone like me had been there and had been allowed to carry their concealed weapon, the recent school shooting in Broward County would never have occurred. If, after first trying to reason with the school shooter had not dissuaded him, he would have been dispatched as soon as he put his rifle to his shoulder. It is a hard thing to think about such things, but I and countless others would do it for my wife, my grandchildren, and your children.
We live in a surreal world now where city council meetings, county commissioner meetings, state legislative sessions, courts, and various other government and private offices all have armed security immediately at hand; yet we have made completely vulnerable our most precious pearls, our school children, by placing them in a “gun free” zone. As it is now, if a person wants to make a horribly deranged statement by shooting people, that person knows the absolute safest place for him to do it is at a school because there will be no armed person there to stop him.
It makes no sense whatever to send my wife and grandchildren to a “gun free” school zone each morning. My hope is the good thing that will come of this horrible tragedy is that each school will be provided an armed security officer, and the “gun free” school zone laws will be amended to allow legally licensed men and women (including school teachers who so choose), to carry their concealed weapon on school grounds..
Joseph Willis
Palmetto