Note: I wrote this years ago. I cannot remember the incident that caused me to write it.  – B

If the concern really is keeping kids and school staff safe, we need to change the conversation from how to kill someone, like an active shooter,  to how to stop them. We need to stop talking about arming teachers and start talking about how to empower them to stop threats, and yes, that may include allowing some who are already armed to stay that way, but it most certainly doesn’t include arming anyone who isn’t comfortable with it.

STOPPING Power, not Lethal Power

Law Enforcement Officers and the military are trained to shoot to kill when necessary and most of them would at the very least hesitate to take a kill shot on a child. The chances the average teacher could do it are effectively nill.

What the average teacher can do is protect others. Right now, that tends to mean helping them hide. Why not provide those who are willing with non-lethal ways to stop a threat such as Tazers, pepper spray, and other simple tools? No, I’m not being naive. Arguably, one of the most difficult places to see a person when you enter a room is immediately beside the door.  It’s also pretty much impossible to miss a person with pepper spray or a Tazer from that distance.

Non-lethal methods like these incapacitate a person long enough that others can disarm them, run away, or otherwise ensure that they are no longer a threat. All without undue risk of causing permanent injury.

Permit to Carry on Property

There are people who have the training to take a kill shot, or at least an incapacitating one, who are now teachers. There aren’t a lot but for those who are, there is no good reason not to allow them to apply for a permit to regularly carry on school property.

Schools have different issues than society at large because they have kids, and lots of them. Depending on the age, they may be at eye level with your hips or larger and stronger than any adult on staff. They may be special needs with anger issues or special needs who love to come up and give random hugs. Each of these presents different challenges for anyone who routinely carries, which is why regularly carrying on school property merits special training.

The Problem with “Gun Free Zones”

As a woman, this is my basic issue: If I’m on school property, I’m a sitting duck for anyone bigger than me. The dates and times of PTO/PTA meetings are well publicized and it’s no secret that most of those attending are women. For anyone looking to prey on women, this presents a ton of “easy targets”, or at least unarmed ones who are generally distracted, alone, and in an isolated area (school parking lot) at night.

Any woman who carries because she has a restraining order against a violent ex is also placed at extreme risk by these gun free zones. He will know that she is unarmed when going in and out of the school. Is this a stretch? Honestly, far less of a stretch than saying someone concealed carrying who never goes farther than the front office is a threat to anyone in the school. And yet, if someone who routinely concealed carries forgets to leave their weapon in the car when they walk in to pick up their kid, they could be convicted of a felony offense for that.

Staying Safe

We all want our kids safe but the current path clearly has flaws. We don’t want to throw the baby out with the bathwater, but it’s time to take a serious look at the system from top to bottom. Stop having the same conversation about guns and start thinking about what will really keep our kids, teachers, and school staff safe.