During a
February 25, 2018, interview on FoxNews Sunday, Chris Wallace asked Florida
Governor Rick Scott about arming teachers. Governor Scott said, in effect, he
was willing to sacrifice one to two classrooms full of students rather than
allow teachers to carry concealed weapons on campus. Surely the Governor would take
great umbrage at that conclusion. Still, what he said was that he wanted
“teachers to teach” and law enforcement to handle active shooters—sentiments
echoed by various teachers and others in clips preceding the interview as well
as news clips across the broadcast media.
History has
shown that at some point, a determined attacker can usually defeat a peripheral
defense. Given the nature of our government, one can expect determined
attackers to find various ways through the perimeters of “hardened schools.” Unless “law enforcement” can
instantly identify, locate and confront the threat immediately, it seems likely
that at least one room will suffer casualties. In all likelihood, more than one
room will come under attack as law enforcement verifies the active shooter
reports and moves to where they can effectively engage the perpetrator. Beyond that, we will not rehash the arguments for allowing qualified teachers to voluntarily arm themselves as long as they keep their weapons concealed. Keep in mind
that Florida is a “shall issue” state, see below, so many Floridians have
concealed carry permits already.
If you are a
teacher who “doesn’t want the responsibility to protect children,” please look
over the following short exercise:
· Presumably
every teacher has a few memorable great days during their teaching career. Pick
out the best of those that comes to mind and replay it in your mind. Then,
scroll down to the next step; if you don’t work in education, think of your
best moment in school.
Move through the experience to that peak moment
Then scroll down or look down
o
You
hear the voice of your friend and coffee-break-mate in the next room; rapid gunfire
suddenly silences your colleague
o
You
immediately report the active shooter, lock both doors, and simultaneously direct your class to perform their well-practiced “Active Shooter: Shelter in
Place” procedures
· Hearing
the sound of children running and gunfire now coming from the hallway, you
silently hope the shooter picks some other room
· While
trying to comfort and silence a whimpering student, you hear the rattle of the
locked door at the far end of your
room
· A
gunshot rings out as a bullet flies through the door followed by more rattling
· A
second gunshot sends pieces of the lock flying into the room; a couple of yanks
and the door opens outwardly into the hallway
What do
you do now?
You have to
do something. Pick up scissors and a yardstick? Hide under the desk? Wait
quietly? If you have a concealed carry permit and a handgun, the firearm sits at
home—safely locked in a strong safe. Of course, if that 9 mm was
concealed on your hip, you would have additional options. Certainly, absent a video feed, firing at the
rattling door alone seems out of order. Once the shooter fires through the
door, you know you can safely return fire. Immediately sending three or four
shots back through the door seems like a good choice. Less desirably, you can
wait for the shooter to burst into the room. Unarmed, you have no good choices.
Armed, you at least “have a fighting chance.”
Shall Issue State: This term applies to states that have
passed laws requiring the issuance of concealed carry permits to anyone
who passes the rigorous requirements. Such states do not require the applicant to
show a capriciously interpreted “good reason” for a carry permit. Most such
states enjoyed markedly reduced crime rates after enacting their “shall
issue" ordinances.
DJ
