Armed School guards - impractical, expensive, ineffective, illogical

[MANative]

LaPierre's call to place "armed guards" at every school is beyond ludicrous. A case in point: the high school I attended in MA housed over 4000 students in a large campus with well over a dozen (and if I'm counting correctly, NINETEEN) separate entry/exit points. Speaking with a current teacher, they already have three armed resource officers and he said that he firmly believed even a dozen more wouldn't make a difference against a determined killer with an assault weapon.

Let's take another step beyond the shithead's suggestion. Are we to make the "logical leap" that armed guards are required anywhere that an attack could possibly be perpetrated? Thinking about all the places that have been targeted by gunmen in recent months, not counting every elementary, middle, and high school, that means we need multiple armed guards at every:

movie theater
place of worship
drug store/pharmacy
strip mall
shopping mall
university (most of which already have fully armed, 24/7 police departments, btw)
(feel free to add whatever I've missed to the list)

You get the idea. The man is truly, clinically, insane to think that his "plan" has any connection to reality, or to the kind of lives we all would like to lead. And even if such an approach were to be deemed "appropriately effective" (HA!), how would he propose to actually fund such a deployment when state and local budgets are already strained to the breaking point?

Ban assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition clips, magazines, and drums. That's much closer to something that might actually help.

[firecop70]

1. Yes but...

Adam Lanza wasn't a determined killer he was a frustrated maniac that could have been stopped. The tactical reality is he could have done the same thing with several handguns with several 8 shot magazines, which it appears he had. Further, if her WERE tactically proficient, he could have gotten through the safety glass entrance with a large hammer or maul.

You can ban ALL of those things if you want, but until you deal with the situation as it actually IS as opposed to the way you wish it were, you're wasting time.

[MANative]

3. And this is not Boston in 1787 nor California in 1845...

and the "interpretations" of the intent of the founders bears little resemblance to the technology available today and how "gun rights" have been twisted by a lobbying group whose membership represents barely more than 1% of the US population. What part of "well-regulated MILITIA" in the 2nd Amendment do people not comprehend?

And in practical application, what difference is there, really, between a determined killer and a "frustrated maniac" when he (used specifically, as I'm unaware of any of these crimes being perpetrated by a female) is armed to the teeth, regardless of the weapon in his hand?

[dballance]

9. So What is the situation "as it is" as you see it?

What's the situation and how do you propose to deal with it? Don't just make your statements without any suggestions for improvement.

[hunter]

10. So long as we are imagining things...

... how about we imagine a public health care system that catches lost souls like Adam Lanza before they start shooting? How about we imagine a nation where guns are scarce and people who have gun fetishes are regarded with deep suspicion and even disgust, the same sort of disgust we reserve for pedophiles and others who crap on the innocence of childhood?

[Michigan Alum]

13. Sounds like a wonderful idea!

[Zoeisright]

12. Stopped? How??

I'd like to hear how. THAT is wishful thinking.

Here's the situation as it actually IS, dearie: there are too many guns in this country and they need to be banned.

Anything else is just a band aid.

[rhett o rick]

2. You should include dangerous. These wont be fully trained regular police IMO.

They will be security guards with extra training. The responsibility to keep the children safe would weigh heavily on them, possibly making them a little trigger happy.

[Turbineguy]

4. "impractical, expensive, ineffective, illogical"?

Sounds like the standard GOP solution to a problem.

[MANative]

5. Can't argue with that observation! n/t

[Turbineguy]

14. I could have added

offensive.

[RomneyLies]

6. What could go wrong?

[MANative]

8. And as many of us have already noted:

armed guards were present at Columbine, and a fully armed police force was on-site at Virginia Tech. There was also at least one person with a concealed weapon at the strip mall where Gabby Giffords was shot and six others murdered. So, having those "armed guards" has been definitively proved ineffective.

[HooptieWagon]

7. I think you're overreacting.

A cop at a school isn't just sitting around. They interact with students...sometimes being an unofficial mentor for troubled kids. Sometimes kids look to a police officer friend to tell tnem about abuse at home, or knowledge of a past crime, perhaps even tell them when they hear of a classmate who's brought a weapon or drugs to school. So, there's plenty of reasons for a cop to be at a school, and as long as they're there, they might as well be armed.
Many schools in my area have cops, they're called Community Resource Officers. There have been no incidents, and parents by and large support the program. There have been several planned school shootings that were stopped in the planning stages, though I don't know how involved the cop was in stopping them.
Now, a armed security guard, aka "rent-a-cop", I would be against. Don't have the experience, training, or close working relationship with local LE.

[MANative]

11. I'm overreacting? I live five fucking miles from Newtown. Tell my community that.

My husband, as I've noted many times in previous posts, was a cop for twelve years in a university town (Boston) and my dad was in the US Army for 27 years. I know a little bit about weapons, and I began my career as a teacher, so I also know schools. I also know that "community policing" can be an effective tool. I also know from my husband's experience (and his brother's, who is a school district psychologist) that the "loners" aren't the ones who tend to interact with those resource cops, and that their behavior is often not called out as anti-social. And my husband, the guy with a dozen years of actual experience as a cop, says that the biggest danger to cops is that they are so often out-gunned. If you think I'm just talking out of my bleeding-heart-liberal hat, you're dead wrong.

[jal777]

15. Obama's kids school has something like 10 armed guards. Why shouldn't my kids have the same?

[MANative]

16. Go away. n/t