Arm teachers now
Another senseless shooting resulting in the loss of life to those most precious in our society. Although Connecticut has some of the most restrictive gun laws in the country, it did not stop the carnage.
The mental health community will study the shooter for months if not years to try and find a reason for his actions but none will be found. The “why” is not as important as the “what.”
There is evil in the world, our country and in cities and towns. This evil must be dealt with and dealt with at the point of evil. Since 1995 when the schools were disarmed by the Gun Free School Zone Act there has been a 370 percent increase in the rate of school shootings resulting in more than 192 killed. In the same time period the homicide rate has decreased by 14 percent and gun ownership has skyrocketed.
The responsibility of protecting our children in school rest squarely with the school, they must be held accountable. We take our children to school and expect the school to provide them adequate protection. The principal of the Connecticut school heard shots and went into the hall with a staffer to confront the shooter. Unarmed they were gunned down and were the first killed. However, if the principal and the staffer were trained and armed my bet is there would be a different result and it would have barely made the news.
This is the time for action and the evil must be dealt with, immediately. Action always beats reaction. Here in North Carolina members of the state legislature must take immediate action to allow responsible individuals such as; teachers, principals or janitors to carry firearms in schools. Train these people to stop the threat. We cannot count on police to protect us, there simply are not enough of them to be in every school, mall or public gathering place.
As responsible adults we must demand our legislatures enact laws to protect those who cannot protect themselves. We must arm appropriate individuals in schools and we must do this now. If we don’t it be only a matter of time before we mourn another senseless shooting that is completely preventable.
Dennis Nielsen
Clayton
