What to do … what to do. The debates continue.
I read Michellc’s comment this morning with a smile on my face:
I was talking to a friend last night and she was telling me about her granddaughter’s school. It’s a rural school. A HS kid got on social media and said he was going to kill more kids than any of these other school shooters. Amazing thing happened, he was shortly identified, warrant issued for his IP address and he was arrested. The school will be on lock down for remainder of year, nobody in, parents or deliveries. If a parent needs to pick their child up early, they must call the school and their child will be taken to the office where they can be picked up after parent buzzes in.
Deliveries will be only be made after school hours.Let’s continue though blaming the gun and watching all these snot nosed punks run around demanding banning guns instead of admitting how easily shootings can be prevented.
It appears that not all of our public officials are completely lacking in common sense, fortunately.
Facing anguished relatives and classmates of shooting victims, a panel of Florida legislators took the unprecedented step Tuesday of creating a new statewide program to put armed teachers in classrooms — over the vocal opposition of Parkland residents.
Voting along party lines, the House Appropriations Committee approved training teachers to carry guns in class under the direction of local law enforcement — if superintendents or school boards approve.
The Senate Appropriations Committee approved a similar bill later Tuesday.
“The last line of defense,” said Rep. Jose Oliva, R-Miami Lakes, referring to teachers with guns.
The $67 million “school marshal” program is the most controversial aspect of a House bill that imposes a three-day waiting period for gun purchases, raises the age to buy any gun from 18 to 21 and gives police more power to seize guns from people who threaten themselves or others. Most of the money for the marshal program would be spent on training.
Oliva said the bill doesn’t address whether teachers would be provided guns or would have to buy them. He said that should be decided locally by school boards and superintendents.
The goal: 10 marshals (teachers trained to carry a gun) in every school, which would equate to 37,000 statewide. The state would cover the costs of background checks, drug testing, psychological exams and 132 hours of training. The bill does provide a one-time $500 stipend for those who volunteer to have a gun.
The bill also calls for spending $400 million to put a school resource officer in every school, improve mental health counseling and make public school buildings safer.
Farther down in the story (what’s that about?):
A Democratic effort to strip the school marshal program failed on an 18-9 party-line vote.
In addition:
A Democratic effort to strip the school marshal program failed on an 18-9 party-line vote.
As the article describes very well, there was a lot of opposition, grandstanding, shouting and yelling. The NRA lobby opposed the new gun restrictions. Democrats largely oppose arming teachers. Distressed and angry parents and students spoke for four hours about the horror in Parkland on Valentine’s Day.
I was pleased to discover that legislators in my own state have proposed new laws that could soon allow teachers across our state to be armed with guns. Several proposals are on the table, and legislation is expected to be introduced sometime in the next few weeks. Legislation in other states is being considered. Some, like Illinois, are concentrating on increasing gun restrictions.
Teachers in several states are already permitted to carry guns in school, in accordance with their local school district rules, of course. From my research, Idaho, Utah, Oregon, Texas, Wisconsin, Arkansas, Mississippi, Kansas, and Colorado allow teachers to carry a concealed weapon on school and university campuses. Rural districts are more inclined to allow teachers to carry weapons, because police are not close by, and can take a half hour or more to respond to calls for assistance.
Stella's Place 
The comment by michellc illustates a very important point. Politicized school boards are refusing the most common sense actions.
In my opinion, if our children are going to be kept safe the answer lies in the seemingly impossible, at least for now. Enraged parents and citizens are going to have to overwhelm the politicians and take back ownership of the schools.
How can they do this? First and foremost by in your face showing up and demanding action. Relentlessly, not a one time deal. At school board meetings, at public forums, in the principal’s office, in the halls of schools, on the lawns, at every single candidate forum. Use your vote to replace complacent board members. Demand solutions, not talk. Over and over.
Something tells me the parents of the school michellc talks about have the involvemtent in schools already going on. I would bet the people making those common sense decisions are just everyday citizens of the community who are prioritizing the kids, not the agenda.
Even, conservatives, perhaps especially conservatives, have too long abdicated their voice to their representatives in a proxy abandonment of their voice to someone they think is going to read their mind and act in their best interests in every situation, rather than submit to the system and political masters above them. It has been done from the halls of Congress and the seat in the Oval Office, and right down to the halls walked in schools across the nation.
Ownership requires effort, monitoring, involvement. Active caring, not passive bitching.
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also….break up the huge Urban school districts that have too much money to direct around and a bunch of activist race sjw school board members that have no clue about managing a huge business.
San Antonio Texas did this, has 8 separate districts, and are in synch with their neighborhood and cultural attendance population…..
all other urban huge districts FAIL….and are mostly full of democrats.
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Well, this inspiration struck me a few moments ago. What do you think?
Only responsible adults should keep and bear arms.
Only responsible adults should be allowed to vote.
Sounds like a win-win to me: your voter ID is your concealed carry license.
So, California, if you authorize illegal immigrants to vote, you’re also authorizing them to pack heat.
Nice “check and balance”, I think.
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Since the Florida shooting there’s been a flood of incidents hereabouts where students have made up false threats. There have been a few arrests but the disturbances have created some problkems. Can’t wait until it dawns on them they’ll have to make up the days the schools were closed thanks to their pranks…
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Heard from an old friend yesterday. Our friend in common, (we’ll call him George) had a near miss with tragedy.
George’s son’s house burned down due to a buildup in lint between the dryer drum and the heating element which ignited. Luckily the son got home just in time to get his small children and wife out of the house, but it will be 100s of thousands of dollars and nine months to repair the house.
Reminder to check the lint build up in my dryer by, in my case anyway, pulling the front panel off and looking under the drum.
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Sorry – wrong spot for this one. (Shaking my head at my own ineptitude.)
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That’s a very common cause of house fires. Sorry to hear about your friend’s son!
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Everyone got out safely – the rest of it is just ‘stuff’. Thanks, Stella.
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