Littleton, Deming, Flint, Lake Worth, Santee, Gary, Red Lion, Cold Spring, D.C., Red Lake, La Follette, Essex, Bailey, Cazenovia, Nickel Mines, Tacoma, Prineville, Cleveland, Oxnard, Federal Way, Detroit, Ft. Lauderdale, Larose, Madison, Salinas, Marinette, Omaha, Placerville, San Jose, Houston, Chardon, Jacksonville, Chapel Hill, Stillwater, Newtown, Southgate, Sardis, Gray, Austin, Sparks, Centennial, Bend, Miami, Detroit, Troutdale, Lake Mary, Fairburn, Marysville; a total of 115 children, teens and school personnel have died in K-12 school shootings in the United States since Columbine in 1999. These are just the cities where fatalities were recorded in the shootings. If you add college and universities, the number doubles and the number injured reach nearly 300. There have been a total of 155 school shootings in America since Columbine 15 years ago.
I am a gun owner, outdoorsman, and a proud NRA Member. While my next comment could get my NRA Membership revoked, liberals would be elated knowing a conservative is second-guessing his values. Lately I have wondered if stricter gun laws should be implemented; the better half of me knows that legislation will not get guns out of the hands of criminals, so what is America to do? Perhaps it’s time to change legislation and allow school administrators to arm themselves; the opportunity to obtain a CCW License might be the solution. Maybe then it would deter would-be shooters to reconsider knowing that they might be stopped long before the melee begins. Maybe then the media will hail the Hero as opposed to the gunman as they did last week in the shooting at Parliament last week in Canada.
Last week in Marysville, WA a young teen upset over the breakup with his girlfriend took a gun to school. He shot and killed a fellow classmate and injured four others before he was killed. Little has been said of the female teacher who grappled with the student when the gun went off killing him. But the media has reminded us countless times, “He was Homecoming Prince and a nice kid,” – supposedly.
Lately our President has used these atrocities for propaganda to push his views on gun control, and has proposed stricter background checks and a ban on assault weapons. Perhaps we need to look at our priorities. Throughout America armed personnel protect our President, Government Offices, Military Bases, and our borders. They protect executives, celebrities, and other people who need their entourage. Why not have them protect our future – our children? When terrorists threatened our borders, our government established the Department of Homeland Security costing Americans $60B annually. How much would it cost expand the budget to allow for armed personnel to protect our schools?
Gun control is not the answer; to the contrary, we need good people who have been cleared through extensive background checks to able to arm and protect themselves and the people around them if ever faced with danger. If criminals had to worry if the person standing before them was equally or better armed than they, perhaps criminals would think twice about committing a crime. It’s a right my wife and I embrace each day when we leave our home.
“Though defensive violence will always be ‘a sad necessity’ in the eyes of men of principle, it would be still more unfortunate if wrongdoers should dominate just men.”
– St. Augustine
Leave a Reply