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Banning guns won't help, and metal detectors don't address the root cause.
There is no quick fix.
The US is a culture where violence is approved of. It's one of the few first world nations where schools (in some states) are allowed to beat kids. Movies depicting gruesome murders and torture aren't censored as much as a movie where a female nipple is shown. Police brutality is more expected in the US than in most other developed countries. Etc
How about we try some cliches like "It takes a village" and "If you see something say something", and "we are all in this together".
The common thread to most shooters is that they are outsiders that have been bullied, ostracized and they have given up hope for a future and they take their frustrations out on the only thing they know their peers, teachers and sometimes parents.
How many times have we seen the pieces fall into place after the shooting and it all makes sense but we are left wondering why no one said or did anything?
We need to look out for each other and actually give 2 craps about our fellow humans and get them the help they might need.
If I were 16 in high school, I am going to give a wide berth to the kid who wears a long trench coat to school, no matter how hot and humid.
I am going to do the same to the kid who spouts white supremest Nazi nonsense and is obsessed with guns.
Adam Lanza/ Sandy Hook was home schooled beginning in 8th grade. As the years wore in he only left the basement to go to the range with mama. He had ceased verbal communications.
These shooters know they are not right in the head. They all seem prepared not survive the mass shooting.
Fine, you win, I don't have the stats. Happy? Jesus...
But my point was that it's unlikely that the shooters seriously expect to come out alive. Hell, the shooters off themselves a good portion of the time according to your own stats.
And no, I don't blame guns for the shootings. I just don't think turning schools into max security prisons is enough. Do it while addressing the root cause: the culture of violence in the US.
Bear in mind that the same is true for the only known working model for this: Israel.
Hamas, Hezbollah, The Islamic Jihad, the PLO -- all groups of people advocating for suicide bombers, etc. Terrorists have routinely targeted Israeli schools, preschools and daycares. They don't expect to survive. Israelis maximized the number of well trained and well armed people protecting their kids. Those school shooters have even less interest in surviving the school shooting than American school shooters. They think they're going to be rewarded in heaven as a martyr. A lot of kids died in horrific fashion.
Since locking things down and arming their teachers, israeli schools are very rarely targeted. There have been something like 1 or 2 school shooting fatalities in Israeli schools in the last 8 years.
The thing that makes shooters in the USA different is that the shooter is likely to be a student. This makes it even more critical to have a good guy/gal with a gun spread throughout the school. Any classroom without a gun is at the greatest risk. As long as students have no idea who is armed, it tends to create less worry. Out of sight, out of mind. Kinda the whole point of concealed carry really. And any would-be shooter has no idea who will be shooting back at them.
Hannity has been pushing the idea of retired LE to be armed volunteers in schools. In recognition of their volunteering, their incomes would not be taxed by the state or federal government.
I think he overestimates the willingness of retired LE to volunteer in sufficient numbers to make a difference.
Both Parkland and the Texas schools had armed SROs and the shooters knew it. It did not prevent the big event. Neither had any idea of where the SROs were in the schools.
We know the Parkland SRO was outside and did not go into the school once the shooting began. The Texas SROs engaged in a 25 minute gun battle with the shooter. It’s reactiinary. And the shooters don’t expect to live.
Bear in mind that the same is true for the only known working model for this: Israel.
Hamas, Hezbollah, The Islamic Jihad, the PLO -- all groups of people advocating for suicide bombers, etc. Terrorists have routinely targeted Israeli schools, preschools and daycares. They don't expect to survive. Israelis maximized the number of well trained and well armed people protecting their kids. Those school shooters have even less interest in surviving the school shooting than American school shooters. They think they're going to be rewarded in heaven as a martyr. A lot of kids died in horrific fashion.
Since locking things down and arming their teachers, israeli schools are very rarely targeted. There have been something like 1 or 2 school shooting fatalities in Israeli schools in the last 8 years.
The thing that makes shooters in the USA different is that the shooter is likely to be a student. This makes it even more critical to have a good guy/gal with a gun spread throughout the school. Any classroom without a gun is at the greatest risk. As long as students have no idea who is armed, it tends to create less worry. Out of sight, out of mind. Kinda the whole point of concealed carry really. And any would-be shooter has no idea who will be shooting back at them.
Contrary to the myths, most Israeli teachers are not armed. The schools do however, have armed guards at the entrances, usually contractors. They profile for Arab terrorists with bombs, not random kids intent on shooting a maximum number of people.
Israel does not have the equivalent of the Second Amendment. It’s not easy for average Joe to buy a gun. Guns and owners are highly regulated.
A gun is no match for a bomb or suicide bomber.
Israel has a population of about 8.5 million. The US has a population of about 325 million and about 100,000 public schools spread over 3.8 million square miles.
I doubt these nuts are doing it when mom and dad are home. And yes, a pry bar is all you need for most gun safes. Nutter tells mommy he doesn't feel well, mommy calls in for nutter and he does his dirty work.
I seriously am disturbed by the disconnect some parents have with their kids. This comes from being a parent, coach, teacher's aid and volunteer. Some people really shouldn't have kids ever.
Flip side is there are more helicopter moms/ parents than at any point in time. My parents had no clue where I was or what was going on in my head while in high school. The concept of parent- teacher conferences did not exist.
The latest shooter engaged in folk dancing at his church, for crying out loud.
Contrary to the myths, most Israeli teachers are not armed. The schools do however, have armed guards at the entrances, usually contractors. They profile for Arab terrorists with bombs, not random kids intent on shooting a maximum number of people.
Israel does not have the equivalent of the Second Amendment. It’s not easy for average Joe to buy a gun. Guns and owners are highly regulated.
A gun is no match for a bomb or suicide bomber.
Israel has a population of about 8.5 million. The US has a population of about 325 million and about 100,000 public schools spread over 3.8 million square miles.
Which is why we can't do it the same way they do it. We have a problem they don't have. We have students who become shooters. This makes it particularly difficult to keep shooters out of a school. There are remote communities where police are 30 minutes to 1 hour away, if not more. There is no way to get there in time. At this point, it's irrelevant whether the Israeli armed teachers thing was real or a myth. It's the only sane solution for the USA that I know of.
Which is why we can't do it the same way they do it. We have a problem they don't have. We have students who become shooters. This makes it particularly difficult to keep shooters out of a school. There are remote communities where police are 30 minutes to 1 hour away, if not more. There is no way to get there in time. At this point, it's irrelevant whether the Israeli armed teachers thing was real or a myth. It's the only sane solution for the USA that I know of.
If you have a better idea, please do tell.
Sure. Let's have some common sense gun control. Safe storage laws. Required training before being able to buy ammo. Restrict what type of guns are allowed.
Sure. Let's have some common sense gun control. Safe storage laws. Required training before being able to buy ammo. Restrict what type of guns are allowed.
We're probably more restrictive right now than the 2nd Amendment should really allow. Adding to that just creates fodder for the SCOTUS strike down. Rules for buying ammo? Yeah the Supreme Court would kill that one quick. And you ever hear of reloads? What the hell is "Common sense gun control" anyways? You hear those words a lot but they're not well defined. "Do what makes sense"? Makes sense according to who?
None of what you just said would have stopped any recent school shooting that I can think of. Like I've said, "just take the guns away" is the least helpful suggestion. You have repeal or significantly modify the 2nd Amendment to even begin. Okay so 2/3 of both houses of Congress + 38 of 50 states voting for repeal. Sounds easy, right? Once you get that done, all you need to do is round up the largest collection of guns on earth from about 100 million folks who want nothing to do with handing them over. What do you do when you catch people hiding guns? Throw them in prison? You think prisons are overcrowded now, you ain't seen nothing! But sure, spend the next 100+ years and invest more money than anything the US government has ever attempted ... and you might actually disarm America. Then again, you might not. It's possible that similar to prohibition, the black market will just take over supplying guns to people who want them.
The Gun Control approach is by far the most difficult solution. How does that help us right now??
We're probably more restrictive right now than the 2nd Amendment should really allow. Adding to that just creates fodder for the SCOTUS strike down. Rules for buying ammo? Yeah the Supreme Court would kill that one quick. And you ever hear of reloads? What the hell is "Common sense gun control" anyways? You hear those words a lot but they're not well defined. "Do what makes sense"? Makes sense according to who?
None of what you just said would have stopped any recent school shooting that I can think of. Like I've said, "just take the guns away" is the least helpful suggestion. You have repeal or significantly modify the 2nd Amendment to even begin. Okay so 2/3 of both houses of Congress + 38 of 50 states voting for repeal. Sounds easy, right? Once you get that done, all you need to do is round up the largest collection of guns on earth from about 100 million folks who want nothing to do with handing them over. What do you do when you catch people hiding guns? Throw them in prison? You think prisons are overcrowded now, you ain't seen nothing! But sure, spend the next 100+ years and invest more money than anything the US government has ever attempted ... and you might actually disarm America. Then again, you might not. It's possible that similar to prohibition, the black market will just take over supplying guns to people who want them.
The Gun Control approach is by far the most difficult solution. How does that help us right now??
Safe storage laws certainly could have limited access to some of the guns used. I like the fact that many national companies are either curtailing sales of certain firearms, or they are increasing the age of the person they will sell it to. Simple and effective, it's part of the solution. Plus it can be implemented overnight.
Would SCOTUS say restricting ammo be against the 2A? Maybe, but it's not a slam dunk. Requiring safety features on firearms, such as electronic fingerprint readers restricted to one person, is not against the 2A. That could be another part of the solution.
I am not naive enough to think the above two will eliminate all mass shootings, but it will curtail some of them. After all, I have a fingerprint reader on my $200 cell phone; and it works great.
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