TX & FL: Putting guns and ammo into schools

[RugersGR8]

Houston ISD Earmarks over $2M in Guns, Ammo for Classroom Defense

Houston Independent School District approved over $2 million in funding for guns and ammo for school resource officers in the district.

www.breitbart.com

Florida County Adds AR-15s for Classroom Defense in Each School

Florida's Indian River County School District has added an AR-15 to every school so resource officers can access rifles in an attack.

www.breitbart.com

 

[Snattlerake]

Sheriff Ivey, “You are not coming into my schools and killing our children.”

 

[dabigboy]

I realize it's a popular idea in our conservative circles to put LEOs/resource officers/security guards in schools, arm teachers, lock the doors, fortify walls, etc. I also realize metal detectors and surveillance have pretty solid support all around.

I think we shouldn't be turning our schools into prisons. Lots of folks jumping on board with these ideas "for the children", yet there seems to be essentially no consideration or insight into what this might be doing to kids psychologically.

It's particularly questionable when you consider the extreme rarity of random, indiscriminate mass school shootings (or mass shootings anywhere, for that matter).

I also don't see anyone talking about the cultural issues with giving this so much attention. If you make a big deal about fortifying schools and telling would-be shooters they won't be successful, you build up the mystique. It is just as likely to make the problem worse, not better.

What are we thinking?

Matt

 

[Okie4570]

I realize it's a popular idea in our conservative circles to put LEOs/resource officers/security guards in schools, arm teachers, lock the doors, fortify walls, etc. I also realize metal detectors and surveillance have pretty solid support all around.

I think we shouldn't be turning our schools into prisons. Lots of folks jumping on board with these ideas "for the children", yet there seems to be essentially no consideration or insight into what this might be doing to kids psychologically.

It's particularly questionable when you consider the extreme rarity of random, indiscriminate mass school shootings (or mass shootings anywhere, for that matter).

I also don't see anyone talking about the cultural issues with giving this so much attention. If you make a big deal about fortifying schools and telling would-be shooters they won't be successful, you build up the mystique. It is just as likely to make the problem worse, not better.

What are we thinking?

Matt

Current culture doesn't want to talk about culture and it's spiral downward......it's the guns fault remember? Mental folks shouldn't be locked up, they have rights remember?

 

[RugersGR8]

I realize it's a popular idea in our conservative circles to put LEOs/resource officers/security guards in schools, arm teachers, lock the doors, fortify walls, etc. I also realize metal detectors and surveillance have pretty solid support all around.

I think we shouldn't be turning our schools into prisons. Lots of folks jumping on board with these ideas "for the children", yet there seems to be essentially no consideration or insight into what this might be doing to kids psychologically.

It's particularly questionable when you consider the extreme rarity of random, indiscriminate mass school shootings (or mass shootings anywhere, for that matter).

I also don't see anyone talking about the cultural issues with giving this so much attention. If you make a big deal about fortifying schools and telling would-be shooters they won't be successful, you build up the mystique. It is just as likely to make the problem worse, not better.

What are we thinking?

Matt

Matt,
How many schools are hit by tornados - aren’t they rather random and infrequent? And yet schools are building safe rooms in their present buildings or putting them in the construction of new buildings - all in plain view of their students.

How many schools burn down - aren’t they rather random and infrequent? And yet schools have fire alarms, fire drills, fire extinguishers, fire hoses, sprinkler systems, etc. all in plain view of their students.

By your way of thinking, won’t students be traumatized and mentally/emotionally scarred by seeing these safe rooms and fire equipment in the schools that they attend. Shouldn’t these items should be banned from all present and future schools to prevent this mental/emotional crippling affect from ever occurring? Just like banning SRO’s & teachers from having access to arms is going to prevent the mental/emotional crippling affect from ever occurring?

 

[dabigboy]

We don't need to go to extremes. It's not a binary decision. Tossing out any and all mitigation measures because they might distress students, would be just as foolish as the current trend of dogpiling on all the heavy-handed prison-style tactics we can imagine, without any consideration for negative side-effects. Interestingly, I saw the same line of thinking in the world's response to COVID. It seemed any *potential* mitigation measure against COVID was on the table, regardless of unintended consequences. We are now seeing the fallout of that flawed thinking.

You can absolutely decide the cost/benefit for one mitigation measure makes it worthwhile, and still decide the cost/benefit for some other mitigation measure doesn't pan out.

As to the comparison to tornadoes/fires, those threats are very different from a shooting, and the mitigation efforts quite different. You can take reasonable precautions against natural disasters without treating the kids like inmates in a prison....and without teaching them to fear their fellow man.

Matt