Ohio School Board Considers Arming Teachers
Russ Chastain 11.24.14
Logan County, Ohio – Sometimes, my hope for the human race is bolstered when I see proof that some people in control have a little common sense. And that’s what I’m seeing here, where a county school board is reasonably discussing placing guns in schools in order to combat possible attacks using guns.
Discussions by the Riverside Local School board were not conclusive and will reportedly be resumed on December 16. Public forums are also in the works, as they seek the input of citizens on the issue. As Superintendent Scott Mann said, “It’s going to be a community decision.”
Alternatives mentioned include arming teachers who wish to carry firearms and/or the placing of unattended lock boxes containing guns at various locations around the property. To me, that could be a bad idea. Any unattended “safe box” has the potential to be surreptitiously accessed by unauthorized personnel, but nobody can take a gun from a person carrying it without the carrier’s knowledge.
Mann has the opposite view, saying, “I do not want guns on teachers in the classroom. I think that’s one of the worst safety plans you can have.”
So, if someone starts shooting innocent children, the ability to respond immediately is “one of the worst safety plans?” Hmmm. We’ll just have to agree to disagree on that.
Sidney, Ohio has taken the lockbox approach:
Sidney schools placed 30 loaded hand guns strategically around its seven school buildings. Each weapon is locked in a box that can only be opened by a fingerprint.
Twenty-seven staff members and seven security officers are trained as first responders to an active shooter situation and can access the guns.
Either way, it will be infinitely better to have some guns available to the good guys, rather than the ridiculous and deadly “gun free zone” approach that has allowed so many murderers to commit crimes without fear of a timely, effective response.
It makes a lot more sense than bringing a sign to a gunfight.
