A GOOD GUY WITH A GUN.
Scot Peterson. What a fateful name. Not the wife-killer Scott Peterson, now on death row…but one t less. He is the now exposed armed resource guard who was present, even as the shootings in Florida took place.
So now we have the mythical “good guy with a gun” that is often suggested as a remedy to counter mass shootings. Mike Tyson once said, “Everybody has a plan…until they get hit in the mouth.” And that is at the very heart of this discussion about arming teachers, training teachers. Some people become quite adept at hitting targets…none of which are armed and capable of shooting back. Some shooters are just gonna freeze, that’s a fact. Others may panic and shoot inaccurately and pose a threat to the very people they are tasked to protect.
So the armchair Monday morning quarterbacking analysis of Rump is typical theoretical posturing. A fearful reality is that some people, eager for “a solution” are gonna sign on and say “Yeah! THAT’s what we need! Armed teachers!”
But who will bell the cat? I’m sure there are numerous teachers out there who will be willing and capable of signing on; some may even prove effective under such stress. But as national policy, NO. Its just silly buck passing. History teaches us that assailants willing to die, even eager to die are formidable foes.
The best thing we can do is to continue our efforts to make such weapons unavailable to them. That starts with AR-15’s which are designed purely to inflict maximum damage to their targets. You may not know that; you may not believe that but it is so. I’ve used them. I’ve seen close up the damage they generate. Ban them. Confiscate them. And then move on to handguns. This isn’t brain surgery, just common sense. Something entirely lacking in American society today. Damn all theoretical 2nd Amendment advocates that stand in the way of reasonable gun legislation. THEY are the domestic terrorists that enable mass murder in America today.