As a part of my job I subscribe to some rather tasteless and extreme newsletters including those from local right wing political candidates. Our local Commissioner race in November thankfully returned all incumbents. I say thankfully because the challengers in most cases were not only Tea Party Republicans but extreme versions of that ilk.
This morning, in light of Friday's tragedy I received one such newsletter from a person called Mark Garcia. Known for toeing the Tea Party line and blaming the government for everything under the sun, Garcia's thoughts on gun control now seem to be something fairly universal among right wingers.
Local Oregon state representative from Central Point Dennis Richardson first came out with the statement that the solution to our gun control problem is simply more guns. Teachers need to be armed.
http://www.nrtoday.com/...
This brings me back to Mark Garcia and the newsletter he sent out this morning.
My Thoughts on School Safety
This tragedy, this Evil, that befell this community in Connecticut is just as likely to afflict us as it is any other community across the nation, the issue before us, beyond shedding the tears of sorrow, is to protect our own from meeting this heartbreaking end.
How this is to be accomplished is the responsibility of all. It is clear to me that the measures which have been taken over the years to protect our schools are not effective, and cannot adequately address this problem. While those measures which have been taken by legislators, governors, school boards and others have undoubtedly prevented many such similar tragedies from occurring, there seems to me to be but one possible solution that we can implement which will ensure that school shootings are minimized to the fullest extent possible.
It is time to implement a school shooting defensive plan which incorporates a less than sixty-second armed response time by trained school employees. Whether these armed and trained employees are administrators, teachers, maintenance personnel, bus drivers, or hired security personnel, every school should have an armed security force capable of engaging with and defeating an armed intruder within one minute of an assault.
This security force should be fully trained in the use of deadly force and non-lethal measures, and be equipped with a wide range of weapons, both concealed and non-concealed.
If implemented swiftly, having an on-site quick reaction force will dramatically reduce the number of causalities during the next attack, which ours or someone else’s children suffer. Further, having a demonstrably effective security force at our schools will over time by way of thwarting the intentions of would be attackers, make such attacks far less likely to occur.
So I call upon community leaders around our county to join with me in calling upon our elected leaders in Salem to implement such a plan forthwith. Time is of the essence, for we know not when and where the next attack will occur, and this parent, this father is not interested in waiting to know if the next click of the revolver is my child’s turn to make their maker –or someone else’s.
Effective, immediate action is required to confront the next assault and I believe only a credible on-premises security force is capable of meeting that challenge. Where there is a budget issue, there will be no issue of money, where there is a reluctance to go that far issue, there will be no issue of not doing what it takes to get the job done, where there is bureaucracy issue, there will be no issue in fast tracking a bill through the State assembly, and where there is an issue of disagreement, there will be no dissent, for the time of leaders to lead is now.
If it can be done, it will be done.
God bless those in Newtown who have lived so little, and for those who have lived so well in protecting them to the best of their abilities, their training, and tools for which we have given them. We know that we can do more Lord.
So let us do that; let us do better.
I am sickened by such a solution. No thoughts for trying to solve the problem at its source. No, Republicans are quite happy making further cuts to mental health programs and then cleaning the mess up by simply arming everyone. I am unsure whether Mr Garcia received any money from the gun lobby, but his attitude is sadly becoming the norm here in Oregon.
I invite you to give Mr Garcia a piece of your mind at mgarcia@lacodiatech.com