In answer to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings NRA president Wayne LaPierre suggested assigning armed guards in our public schools. When attempting to figure out logistically and financially a viable solution to provide that kind of force in our schools let’s investigate further what that would look like. Recently, talk radio “entertainers” like Rush Limbaugh have suggested putting a retired police officer in our schools. Despite the obvious differences in training, cool-headedness and age, the gun bearers may or may not have, there are some legitimate questions we must ask.
Who will pay the retired police officers’ salaries? How will the officers be armed? Who will pay for their weapons, who will pay for their ammunition and who will pay for their ongoing training? Are we asking the already financially encumbered public school districts to foot the bill for all of this?
Most police officers are issued a service weapon. For example, the LAPD uses a 22 40 caliber Glock. It varies on the police department. Most use the Glock, Smith & Wesson, Sig Sauer or possibly the H & K. Approximately 65% of police departments in America issue this grade of pistol. These are handguns not rifles.
The Newtown and Aurora shooters carried the Bushmaster AR-15. The AR-15 is a lightweight, 5.56 mm, magazine-fed, semi-automatic rifle, with a rotating-lock bolt, actuated by direct impingement gas operation or long/short stroke piston operation. The Standard issue magazines are 20 or 30 round staggered-column magazines, traditional box magazines exist in 40 and 45 round capacities, and usable magazines have been constructed from a variety of materials including steel, aluminum, and high-impact plastics. Drum magazines with 90 and 100 round capacities exist, such as Beta C-Mags.
Most police officers carry the G30S pistol. The G30 combines the full capacity .45 Auto round count with a slimmer slide. This pistol offers a lighter, more easily concealable option for Law Enforcement. Being able to conceal a weapon while walking the hallways of a public school has been an important concern for officers who are already in schools.
LaPierre’s call for a “National School Safety Shield” falls under criticism because Columbine High School had two armed guards. Virginia Tech had a whole armed campus police department and Ft. Hood was a heavily armed military facility.
On a personal note; my father was a police officer. He served for close to thirty years. He won many sharp shooter awards and was an impeccable marksman. Dad was also a war veteran. Even with all this experience and expertise Dad and his service pistol would not have stood a chance against a shooter with an assault rifle. The assault rifles have longer range capabilities. They have a faster delivery system and their magazines carry many more bullets.
We need a ban on assault rifles, reduced magazine clips, universal background checks and a better mental health system.
We need gun safety. That is what will make our communities and our schools safer.
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Sat Mar 09, 2013 at 12:42 PM PT: We also need to consider where the armed security officer will be during the school day. Will he be outside at 1st or 2nd recess where the students are most vulnerable? Will he be in be in the cafeteria where large numbers of students are assembled? Will he be roaming the hallways all day long? I think the idea of an armed officer makes us all feel better but, in my opinion it won't secure the student population. We must have a conversation about gun control and mental healthcare. Please.