baldeagle wrote:Personally I don't believe cops in school are the answer unless there will be several in every school (which I doubt).
First of all, when an armed maniac enters a school, unless you have a single point of entry and the cop is nearby, people will die before he or she gets there. Secondly, if the maniac recognizes the cop and shoots him or her, your single defender is out of commission, possibly dead.
If you allow teachers who have CHLs, the desire to carry at school and the training to deal with a potential mass shooting incident, the right to carry at school, you have IMO the best of all situations - multiple armed defenders who are unidentifiable to the shooter as defenders until their weapons are produced. At least one is likely to be on scene at or near the beginning of the incident. More can converge as soon as the incident is properly recognized as a potential mass shooting. If more than one is on scene, the shooter has a problem. He or she will have to decide which defender to target first. If both are well trained, accurate shots, the shooter doesn't have much of a chance.
We also need training for all teachers that covers the appropriate course of action in the event of a onsite shooter; lock the door to the room, move the children away from the door, close the blinds, etc., etc. These drills should be practiced just like fire drills are now. The administration should be trained on what to say over the intercom so that everyone clearly understands what's going on as quickly as it's understood.
But cops in schools beats the heck out of banning AR-15s as a solution. At least with a cop you have somewhat of a deterrent and a more likely defender than without anything at all, the way that they would have left the schools with just a high cap magazine ban to deter mass school shootings. A plain clothes officer who didn't spend all of their time standing by the front door would seem to improve the odds even further.If you agree that the logic of the gun free zone is fatally flawed, every step away from it is an improvement. Add that to the drills that you suggest and it is a whole lot better than today. I agree with you that the best long term solution is allowing teachers to carry. Maybe we'll get there.
I'd much rather see them spend money putting LEOs in schools than most of the other folly that the Feds are coming up with to spend money.