By: A. H. Pinley
December 14, 2012, the 25k plus populated town of Newtown, Connecticut was thrust into the news, though unfortunate, by acts of terror. Tragedies at this scale have a way of bringing communities closer together, but drive the politics that stemmed from this horrific event committed against innocence farther apart.
Since much hay has been made by the POTUS and those like minded thinkers in regards to supposed escalation of gun violence in the United States, is there really only one option to correct what had happened in Newtown? Is taking the guns away from law abiding citizens really the solution or restricting those rights? I don’t believe it is.
How do we go from a society that not all that long ago would drive around town with gun racks with, in most cases, a loaded rifle in the cab of a pick up? In the 80’s the fall of our society would have been blamed on MTV, in the 90’s video games, 21st Century violent films. Well I think it’s a combination of things. I’ll just mention the two that come to mind, the family unit and pop culture getting the green light to redefine moral values.
For those that say that the United States is a violent place, well crime has declined in all areas since 1990, till last year. What has changed? Poor economy? High unemployment? I believe the jury is still out on as to why, but I want to introduce a solution that is probably not foreign to those that think the way I do. This solution is not only good for the American school, but also good for those that take this totally volunteer course.
Educating the masses on violence in general is great, but that is to say there’re no bad apples in this fabricated utopian world that is trying to be created. Part of the solution to any crime starts with deterrence. Make the perpetrator rethink his or her move by making the target of high risk, i.e. heat packing teachers.
After September 11, 2001, two things occurred, heighten security measures were put into place to assure Americans that another event such as was witnessed on 9/11 wouldn’t repeat it’s terror. Part of the heighten security measure was limiting what got onto commercial airlines, box cutters. Keep in mind flying from one destination to another is not a right, but a privilege. Another added protection measure in case a passenger with criminal intent slipped by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) were the implementation of the federal air marshall.
Which leads me to my point. Schools all across the fruited plains of America need to heighten security on their campuses. Now this decision should be left out of the hands of DC politicians and left in the hands of the state to decide what’s the best course of action to tackle this now present issue. Like first responders training, i.e. first aid and CPR training, an added tool to the educators belt will not mandatory but voluntary.
Whether people agree or not, the classroom control and the protection of students is the responsibility of the teacher. And the argument that they, they being the educator, doesn’t get paid enough to protect students, then find in your heart to protect a fellow human. Anyways, this course would run during the summer recess months and refresher classes will be held throughout the school year.
Three weeks of training with expert marksmen and women provided by active duty, prior military and off duty police officers running the participants through a number of shooting ranges at different distances and scenarios. Part of the course will be to familiarize the individual with the weapons that will be handled while attending, AR-15 and 9mm.
A live stress course will be ran to monitor how the trainees handle themselves under pressure. After a brief obstacle course to get the blood flowing the trainee will engage targets from the prone, kneeling, standing, by method of single shot or double shot. This is a pass or fail event. It’s not a question of who wants to be John Rambo or Jane Rambo, but a question on who wants to maintain control of the classroom?
Instead of restricting American’s gun rights, let’s put in deterrent measures to make the criminal think otherwise. God bless the families of Newtown, Connecticut. God bless America and those that defend Her.
http://news.yahoo.com/paul-krugman-nra-now-revealed-insane-organization-181006917--abc-news-politics.html
ReplyDeleteSo the NRA is seen as insane, but the abortion lobby (i.e. Klanned Parenthood) are deemed sane? Give me a break.
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