Letter: Lots to be done to improve school safety

Posted 3/22/18

To the editor: This country has sadly suffered way too many tragedies like the recent school shooting in Florida. Events have clearly shown that poor school security and failed governmental controls …

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Letter: Lots to be done to improve school safety

Posted

To the editor:
This country has sadly suffered way too many tragedies like the recent school shooting in Florida. Events have clearly shown that poor school security and failed governmental controls to prohibit the purchase of firearms by unauthorized personnel have been key factors in these disasters. Yet rather than rising to the challenge of logically solving this problem, all we hear is ”we need more gun control.”
What we need is real school security standards nationwide. We created OSHA, Consumer Protection Agency, EPA TSA etc. to deal with nationally recognized problems. Yet as a nation we are failing to give school security the same concern.
Unfortunately, we are also undergoing a period of mass hysteria regarding this problem, not unlike the Salem Witch Trials, or even the more recent hysteria regarding Confederate statues etc. Unfortunately the American public is both easily led and terribly uninformed on our history and the workings of our government. A vivid example is that of the Vietnam War protests (which were mostly student-driven), venting their anger on the military. In our form of government, the military is sworn to obey the orders of the President of the United States. It does not make policy. Yet the military incurred the wrath of well-intentioned, emotional but grossly uninformed students nationwide. Let us not again place a disproportionate emphasis on student views in this emotionally charged debate. Let us recall that a student, which we all were at one point, is at the entry level of life experience. Those that are promoting student reaction to these tragedies are shameless manipulators. We need logical debate to ensure student security not hysteria.
To summarize briefly:
* We need to drastically improved school security. Has anyone looked at school shootings in Israel, a country awash in terrorists and guns? It doesn’t happen. There is typically only one locked entrance protected by an armed guard.
* Creation of gun-free school zones has been a feel good but totally ineffective safeguard. All this accomplishes is to create soft targets for a demented shooter.
* Prohibit the ownership of semi-automatic guns such as the much maligned AR15? Considering the number of all types of guns legally owned by Americans this is a totally impractical proposal. Consider America’s experience with the only other national prohibition of an article alcohol? This well intentioned prohibition resulted in the creation of organized crime and also a nation of normally law abiding citizens flouting the law. UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES!
* Finally prohibition of magazines with a capacity greater than ten rounds. This again is a feel good proposal that contributes absolutely nothing to security of students. It also ignores the reality of literally thousands of such magazines already in legal use in the country, and the fact that it takes about two seconds to replace a magazine.
* The term "assault rifle" is casually thrown around by the uninformed. Any weapon used to assault another is a de facto “assault weapon,” including knives and cars. The actual term had its genesis in World War II, when Germany developed a fully automatic submachine gun ("sturm gewhr") to be used by special attacking troops (For the uninformed the AR-15 is a semi-automatic weapon).
n Finally almost lacking in recognition by the public or media is the prevalence of violence in our society. Look no further than the overwhelming presence of video games where one “kills” opponents, or in the movies and TV programing. This is hardening our young people to the finality of the act of killing. Where is the move to deal with this worsening problem!
In closing let me emphasize the need for national standards for real school security, thorough background checks before purchase (which is already the law in Rhode Island), greatly improved mental screening of apparently troubled individuals, and finally fixing the broken governmental safeguards in our society without infringing on individual freedoms, especially those afforded by the Second Amendment.
In conclusion, I am not the problem! We need to get serious to logically solve the real problem.
Brigadier General Richard J. Valente USA (Retired)
Warren

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