The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. (Photo: Sun-Sentinel)
Teachers should be armed and trained says a new report published by a Florida commission examining the mass killing at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.
Under existing law certain staffers, including resource officers, librarians and administrators can carry concealed in schools. By a vote 13 to 1, the commission would like the Legislature to expand that law to cover teachers provided they undergo the required training and pass a background check.
“In the ideal world, we shouldn’t need anyone on campus with a gun, but that’s not the world we live in today,” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, a member of the commission, told the Sun-Sentinel. “One’s not enough. Two’s not enough. We need multiple people in order to protect the children.”
The commission is composed of law enforcement officers, public officials, and parents of slain students.
The sole dissenting vote against arming teachers came from Max Schacter. The father of one of the Parkland victims, Mr. Schacter said there ought to be alternatives to firearms like hallway smoke cannons that would lower visibility for a would-be killer.
Congressman Ted Deutch who represents Parkland was not part of the commission be he also bristled at the proposal.
“Teachers want to teach, not be armed for combat in their classrooms,” the Democratic said to the Sun-Sentinel. “Law enforcement cannot push their responsibilities to make our communities safer on to civilians that should be focused on educating their students.”
SEE ALSO: Dad Of Parkland Victim Has Message for Anti-Gun Crusader Alyssa Milano
Other measures to harden schools like metal detectors and bulletproof glass were referred to the Florida Department of Education’s Office of Safe Schools do the high cost associated with implementation.
“Some of this stuff is going to be so expensive it’s unrealistic,” said commission member Mike Carroll, who also served as secretary of the Florida Department of Children. “But there’s some stuff in here that we really would encourage all schools to do.”
Aside from arming teachers, other recommendations include getting schools to create specific plans and drills to address “Code Red” or active shooter situations, encouraging law enforcement to draft policies that make it explicitly clear that their job is to confront the killer and calling on agencies at the local, state and federal level to improve communications as it relates to troubled individuals.
The killer responsible for Parkland had 69 documented incidents where he “threatened someone, engaged in violence, talked about guns or other weapons or engaged in other concerning behavior, according to the report.”
The commission did not recommend any form of gun control. And it plans to present a final version of the 407-page report to the Legislature and the governor by Jan. 1.
Root cause of event.
Incompetence and malfeasance by the school board, Broward sheriffs office, FBI, Parkland HS administers, Department of Children and Families and more. Any one of these entities could have prevented Cruz from being free in society and in acquiring weapons.
Contributing factors.
Incompetent police.
Poorly trained police.
The Open campus system.
No metal detectors or X-ray units. Allowing entry of large packs and bags without inspection.
Delayed video surveillance system prevented real time video by school officials.
Failure by first responders from entering the crime scene and directly engaging the shooter.
Tell me who and in what agencies has been fired and punished.
Tell me what has been put in place to stop arms from entering the school property today. Now. At this minute. Nothing at all. Another deranged kid can pull off another Parkland killing in Florida today because nothing has been put in place.
Don’t tell me it costs too much to put in place technology to stop shooters. The millions spent in existing systems didn’t stop Cruz. He was able to make threats publicly and buy a weapon. He entered the school and committed mass murder and ran away. A policeman in a cruiser picked him up. A good cop with good training apprehended the killer as he walked along a sidewalk.
Like the fire triangle used for prevention of fires it takes multiple conditions for a murder to take place. They are Motive, Opportunity, and Weapon.
Cruz was handed all three by adults who were responsible for recognizing the threat motive and stopping his access to weapons and access into the school.
Cruz was able to defeat the system put in place to stop violent aggression and deny weapons to the violent aggressors. Millions of dollars invested in people and processes and computers and police and other experts all failed to protect the children that day.
Schools must be as secure from unauthorized weapons as Court houses, police stations, and airports. Unauthorized Arms must be stopped from entering schools. Armed school officers must in place in the event a killer. And no public money is too much public money when it is spent protecting our children.
Think about the public cost of illegal aliens on our society. Its billions annually for people who have no rights to be in our cities and states and country. Evict the illegals and use those billions they take from our tax dollars and on school security. Don’t let politicians raise your taxes when they fail to stop the illegals. Demand school security over illegal aliens welfare.
Nice to see what appears to be a shread of actual “common sense”. Well done keeping the agenda touting politicians out of this commission. As you can tell after their recommendations, Congressman Ted Douche shows his true colors. I didn’t read that a teacher is required to carry, only aloud to protect themselves and other if they so choose to go though the proper training. I would like the nice congressman to ask his protection detail to start carrying pepper spray in lieu of firearms.
Q:First rule of a gun fight? A: have a gun! Not every door in the school will have a metal detector. Unfortunately the first victim could be the officer that gets caught off guard at the door that does.
The monsters that commit these horrific shootings do not intend to live through them. So the sooner anyone can make that happen the more lives that will be saved. I feel a great pity for anyone who will be forced to take the life of one of these crazies, yet thank them for their sacrifice and heroism. Thanks to any administrator or teacher willing to do anything for my child, just as I would.
Hopefully more school systems and government entities will come to grips with fact. Evil is ever present.
Look, just open the opportunity for teachers to be able to carry if they have gone through the necessary training. Easy enough. You can’t expect a teacher to be responsible for the safety of the students (sarcasm), as many have straight up said they don’t get paid enough to care. I know plenty of teachers who would take a round or two for their students, just give them the opportunity to fight back.
As for the smoke cannon dude, fire his ass. If you lower visibility for the shooter you do the same for the first responders. That is probably the dumbest shit I’ve heard on this issue.
Also, as stated, many teachers believe they shouldn’t be responsible for the safety and security of students because they don’t get paid for it.. get rid of those assholes. Nurses work 12 – 20 hour or more shifts, get paid shitty, miss out on family time, and deal with a shit ton more than teachers do on a daily basis. And they nut up and do their jobs. As a teacher, you ARE responsible for the safety of my kids. If you tell me otherwise you’re fucked. Like seriously.
“Teachers want to teach, not be armed for combat in their classrooms,” the Democratic said to the Sun-Sentinel. “Law enforcement cannot push their responsibilities to make our communities safer on to civilians that should be focused on educating their students.”
Sir Robert Peel, in his principles of policing said:
To maintain at all times a relationship with the public that gives reality to the historic tradition that the police are the public and that the public are the police, the police being only members of the public who are paid to give full-time attention to duties which are incumbent on every citizen in the interests of community welfare and existence.
Teachers are members of the public, just like you and me. They have an equal responsibility to protect children in their charge as do the children’s parents.
And as I have written:
Police, fire, and EMT personnel are not first responders. First responders are those people at the scene when an incident occurs. They are responsible for their own safety and the safety of those in their charge. Everyone else arrives late.
“Law enforcement cannot push their responsibilities to make our communities safer on to civilians that should be focused on educating their students.”
Once again the narrative must be changed. First the fact is: Law Enforcement is, by law, not responsible for your personal protection. This has been elucidated by the US supreme court. Originally, law enforcement was elected and paid to ASSIST the citizen in the citizen’s personal responsibility for self-defense of LIFE AND PROPERTY! Law enforcement officials, citizens and government officials need to be put in their proper roles. The error of understanding is killing people. No knew law need to be passed. We need to either peel back the layers obstruct and infringe upon good people to carrying guns, and get back to freedom. More government IS NOT the solution!
Where I live in southwest Georgia in a 100,000+ metro area, we have city police, county police, sheriff’s dept., and a county school police force. All of the policing units participate in a gang task force, drug task force, and a SWAT team. Unlike what is happening in the rest of America, the school police force has been in place longer than I have lived here- 32 years. No shooting incidents. The school police have precincts in the schools which works well. School taxes just went up about $200 per year for my humble abode, but the schools here don’t make the violent headlines. If every school board considered the security measures adopted here, maybe schools elsewhere could be hardened and not remain such soft targets.
The guns shouldn’t get into the building in the first place. The courts and airports scan for weapons.
If the schools can’t afford that technology, it is cost effective to arm personnel.
Quit quibbling about cost. Not all teachers are liberal wimps. Their are those that are willing to keep there students safe.
“Teachers want to teach, not be armed for combat in their classrooms.” Says who? Yes, as a teacher I want to teach, but I also want my students to be protected. What kind of idiot thinking is this? Enter gunman into my classroom: “No, wait, Mr. Perp! I just want to teach! Please leave us alone!” Yeah, that would be real effective.
Smoke cannons? Sure, why not? But, that’s not going to prevent a gunman from just randomly spraying the hallway and classrooms with ammo, now, is it? And smoke cannons would also impede the vision of LEO’s and other armed protectors from seeing their target, too. Did the father think of that?
The father cannot think beyond his pre-existing ideology about guns, unfortunately. As for the idiot teachers who are against guns, look no further than their liberal union leadership that has the same ideology as the grieving father….