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Arming school staff could prevent tragedy

February 21, 2018

Jody Langford

OPINION by JODY LANGFORD

Predictably, after every mass shooting, most recently the tragedy in Florida, the same anti-gun talking heads spew the same talking points. They call for “reasonable” gun laws and blame the NRA and the “gun culture” for the shooting.

I rarely, if ever, hear these talking heads suggest any new law that would actually work to prevent tragedies such as this. There are over 300 million guns in private hands in the United States. If a law was passed banning all guns and requiring all guns to be turned in, how many of these would stay in private hands? My reasonable estimate would be upwards of 100 million.

Criminals for sure would not turn them in and neither would unbalanced creeps such as these school shooters.

Law-abiding citizens would hide theirs, not wanting to give up their Second Amendment rights or the ability to protect themselves and their families. So a complete gun ban and confiscation scheme would only serve to make innocents easier targets.

Prior to 1934, you could walk into a hardware store and buy a machine gun off the shelf and walk out with it. Prior to 1968, you could do the same with all guns other than machine guns. As recently as the late 70’s and early 80’s, there were trucks in the high school parking lots with guns in the racks. Were there all these mass shootings back then? I don’t remember any.

The problem is not the gun, it is society. God, morality, and basic human decency and normalcy are removed from our schools and from every facet of our society, then people wonder where God is when these shootings happen.

The solution, albeit a band-aid, is to arm school personnel. On a volunteer basis, any school teacher, administrator, custodian…any staff member that can pass a background check and undergo basic training in firearms safety…should be allowed to carry concealed in the school. The anti-gunners don’t like this idea because they spew the erroneous idea that the mere existence of the gun will lead to an increase in gun violence. Or that there is a higher probability for innocents to get hurt. Or any other number of baseless claims.

There are two common threads to all of these mass shootings: The bad guy was the only one with a gun, or it took a good guy with a gun to stop the carnage.

Jody Langford is a retired law enforcement officer living in the North County.


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You know, if I have access to a pile of Reese mini peanut butter cups, I would eat like 20 of them. If I have access to 3, I can be satisfied with 3 of them. I think the ease of gun access (and Reese’s cups) IS a problem. It might not be the only problem. We don’t really know, because Congress won’t allow the Centers for Disease Control to study gun violence. The CDC studies ALL KINDS of things- sleep health, cell phone use, etc. But OMG just mention guns and here comes all the people saying “don’t take our guns”. NOBODY WANTS ALL YOUR GUNS.


I will say that I have concerns with “average” people being put in to positions where they are making life and death decisions in a school. Even if they volunteer. It is one thing to go to target practice or hunt a deer. It is another thing to respond to a war like situation you aren’t expecting and then be able to make the right decision in a few seconds. It takes extensive training for combat infantryman to be able to respond safely. Maybe we should tax guns purchases even more, we should tax the NRA, tax gun makers even more so that we can hire qualified people with combat experience in schools. I am just not so sure that a gun safety class and target practice is enough to respond in a high risk situation like that.


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And even more predictable, Mr. Langford, is the gun right completing ignoring both the victims and their survivors in the latest massacre. Not one word of condolence, not the ever typical “Our Prayers and Thoughts Are With You”, not even from you! You said the root of this is not “the gun” but “God, morality, and basic human decency” being removed from our schools and society and then don’t even show those traits in your opinion. A decent and moral person, one with God in their life, would recognize the pain first, the loss first, and then maybe take a minute or two in prayer before putting up such a devise and apathetic post.


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Should the Teachers wear Camo’s and tactical gear? Maybe practice Bruce Willis double pistol moves? I am a veteran. When an emergency occurs YEARS of CONSTANT TRAINING come into play. NOT some Barney Fife “oh, it’s time” to brandish my weapon. Teachers need the freedom to focus on TEACHING. Armed GUARDS, TRAINED personell, that don’t take a course once a year, etc. should NOT have pressure put on them to become gunslingers. Not all teachers are able OR willing to take a life. when one of the teachers says “I thought they were reaching for something so I fired. Police (TRAINED TO USE FIREARMS) More people died from police violence in 2017 than the total number of U.S. soldiers killed in action around the globe (21). More people died at the hands of police in 2017 than the number of black people who were lynched in the worst year of Jim Crow (161 in 1892). Cops killed more Americans in 2017 than terrorists did (four). They killed more citizens than airplanes (13 deaths worldwide), mass shooters (428 deaths) and Chicago’s “top gang thugs” (675 Chicago homicides).

https://www.theroot.com/heres-how-many-people-police-killed-in-2017-1821706614


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I just read your post after I posted mine. Totally agree with you. My husband was 11B in Iraq. He agrees with you too. Thank you for your service.


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“The solution, albeit a Band-Aid, is to arm school personnel”


You are kidding, right? As an ex-LEO you see the benefit of this over not having guns in our schools period? Seriously? What would be next, concertina wire topped fences, lead lined walls, solid steel class doors, flack jackets as part of required school attire, kevlar helmets embossed with your school mascot? These are schools, not prisons or indoctrination camps, and your “Band-Aid” is more guns?!! You’re an idiot, sir!


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Arm teachers? Ridiculous! You have been watching too many Die Hard movies. Very unoriginal and simplistic. Thank you for parroting Trump. Trump has no backbone to discuss the issue of semi-automatic rifles. #impeachtrump


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Let me say this about that.

Getting the police to help isn’t going to work, I had a rental tenent call me and tell me he knew where I lived and was going to drive by and shoot at me, so being an upright person I called the Sheriff and explained the situation to them, they told me they didn’t have time to come out and make a report, so i explained to them that I was waiting in my yard with a shotgun and if this disgruntled tenent came by to shoot at me they would need a body bag to haul him off my property, I promptly had a couple sheriff’s here to take a report, taking away our guns isn’t going to work,as there are just not enough cops to defend everyone, I’ll choose to defend myself.

Now on the other hand having an ak47 or an ar15 or some other such gun is not necessary, but this horse hockey of finger printing honest people for ammo is downright stupid, do you think the bad guys are going to go into big 5 to buy ammo.


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They might be coming in to the Big 5 for ammo, but more than likely Walmart because it is cheaper there.


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Hmmmmmm. The first “mass shooting” I remember was back in the late 60’s when a Viet Nam vet got into a bell tower and shot people from above. The country was horrified. There were a lot fewer guns in this country then, but seems like the amount of incidents of death by guns has risen right along with the amount of guns there are available. Imagine that. . All the countries that have banned assault weapons seem to be doing fine. They also usually have health care and family leave , free higher education and much lower poverty levels. If you are afraid of the government, I suggest participation, without which we will never regain our democracy. An AR15 is seriously inadequate against our military armaments, after all. “Only criminals will have guns”? OK. LE is designed to address that. If they are not doing that job, fire them and get officers who will. Since 95% of the public wants to see stricter regulations and only 3% have most of the guns, it puts whomever opposes reform into a very small minority. All the insults and rants about how stupid you think we are will not change that. It just singles you out. OOOohhhh scary!!!! Better hug that gun. As for arming teachers, even fewer teachers want to be armed. They are TEACHERS, not trained combatants. Not to mention the time Pres. Reagan got shot whilst SURROUNDED by the best trained body guards in the world. Seriously, people are you that threatened for your security that you think you need specially designed mass killing machines in your homes? Look around. The only ones shifting us that much further into the third world is you.


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Just a reply regarding the police doing their job. You might notice that almost daily we read about police officers getting killed by firearms. They are the ones that are doing their jobs. Then we read the background of those who are the killers. Yes, many are mentally ill for sure. But many have slipped thru the judicial system were very dangerous felons are plea bargained down to lesser crimes. some are getting early releases, then the liberals are initiating sanctuary cities where some crime is accepted as the norm. The judicial system and politicians are solely to blame when we hear that some shooters have already been convicted of murders and are out walking among us. I find it hard to believe that really happens.


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And let me add that is why I own a gun and believe in gun rights not to say that some modifications could be made.


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Without a doubt, one of the most uninformed and statistically challenged, BS replies I have seen on CCN.


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Love your statistics, did it hurt when you pulled them out? If you think it’s only guns that have changed and not people I feel sorry for you. We’re talking about a generation that eats Tide Pods…. California has 100 to 200 LEOs per 100,000 people. Ask anyone who’s been attacked in their home if they wish they had had a weapon…


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LOTs and LOTS of BS replies there!!!! Hilarious. Of coarse, just what one would expect from a highly trolled site like this. I hear that guys even get PAID TO TROLL on this site! Does not change the fact that people are dying in this country because others insist on owning highly inappropriate weapons for absolutely ridiculous reasons and a lot of pay-offs. The CDC has not even dared to research the problem due to the corrupt influence of cash. MONEY OUT OF POLITICS is the answer,. Participation by all you who think that government is a threat to our freedom or the police are not doing their job. How do you think that will get better by giving more assh*les guns????? Hmm? Get involved in our government if you are so smart. So much more experienced, so much more capable, etc. Get involved or shut up and get out of the way. Change is coming and you will just be the bad memory. Nobody needs an AR15 in their home. No one needs an untrained, inexperienced, wanna be running around feeling important with that kind of equipment. If I were in the position I would want to see them banned globally, along with the rest of the crap that is only good for killing. Anyone who prefers killing, well, at least then you’re being honest about it.


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You are correct Jody, mental illness needs to be addressed and there were several red flags in this incident and in most mass shootings.


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How can you address mental health when your POTUS is cutting the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration by $665 million and cutting the budget of the National Institute of Mental Health by a half a billion dollars or by signing a bill that made it easier for the mentally ill to buy guns? You can’t…


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your right on jody with this article, im 75 years old and all my time in school growing up in OAKLAND this was UNHEARD of there were NO school shootings, and no matter what guns are not going away folks so get over it , the guns did not kill anyone the screwed up person did the killing, and knifes and base ball bats work also you gonna ban them. BAN IDIOTS NOT GUNS


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you’re argument of banning knifes and bats is a logical fallacy (the purpose of a bat is to hit a ball, a knife to chop food, but a gun – a gun is to kill. The gun is being used properly but the others aren’t…do you see the difference?). every country in the world has idiots, but we are the only country that has mass shootings regularly… clearly it isn’t just the mental illness contributing to gun violence. In a country with 4.4% of the world population but has over 50% of all the worlds guns, you can bet on mass shootings occurring regularly.


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Um yeah, and a spoon made Michael Moore fat. Were also the only country in the world where just about every kid has a electronic device capable of viewing highly detailed video games glorifying cop killings, drugs, porno and everything else void of any trace of morals or respect for others, thanks mommy and daddy ;) A celebrated culture in Hollywood of sex, murder, abuse of others and corruption , a government who cant a much ID and killer when it biting them in the ass as they speak and a general population In many states who apparently could give two shits who enters the country and then protects them when they do kill another human. Think SF and Ms. Kathryn Steinle. We’ll keep our guns thank you, meanwhile you stop ignoring the facts.


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