I fully admit that I don’t have close to a solution to school shootings.
I sat yesterday listening to both sides of one particular issue preach at me over whether armed security guards would be the answer.
Both sides say they are right.
Both sides say the other guy is wrong and both are confident that they are on the right side of reality.
Banks have armed guards. They get robbed.
Some stores have armed guards. They get robbed.
No matter what a good person does to try to bring right with the world, there is at least one other person and probably a lot more that are willing to do their best to do bad.
Enfield, Connecticut was well in front of the issue.
In response to Newtown Shootings they embarked on a two year program designed to put an armed officer in every school. The people hired were pretty amazing.
All either retired cops or retired state troopers used to making fast, accurate decisions.I
n addition, Enfield, reinforced second tier security. That is more cameras. Bigger boundaries. Stronger locks and glass and stuff like that.
Parents and presumably students were good with what was being done.
All of that came with a price. 1 point 1 million dollars over a two year pilot program. It has since been disbanded.
All of that is good. And all of that would have bought time in case of the unthinkable. But, think about it, is a guy with a pistol going to stop a guy with a rifle?
And, can really anything happen good once a gunman enters a building?
No one has the answer.
As many parents will tell you that they feel good about having a retired cop in a school as who will tell you they hate the idea.
And, that is the point that we are at.Congress won’t act.
Society won’t change.
And, through it all what happens is that nothing happens.
The talk will continue and the parents will wonder deep down inside their soul whether tragedy strikes them closer to home than anyone should have it happen.