Letter: An open letter to Ted Cruz of Texas

Posted 6/24/22

Thanks to you, Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, we have the solution to school safety.  One single entrance with an armed guard at his/her post. Well, by golly, this idea requires a closer …

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Letter: An open letter to Ted Cruz of Texas

Posted

Thanks to you, Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, we have the solution to school safety.  One single entrance with an armed guard at his/her post. Well, by golly, this idea requires a closer look.

Virtually all schools are campuses comprised of several buildings, sports facilities, play fields, parking lots, and cafeterias. Unless an over-arching dome were constructed, one single entrance would not be feasible. Hmmm.

For the few schools contained in monolith buildings, one single entrance could work. Oops, a fire would likely cause a jam at the now one single exit, resulting in panic, stampeding, and more injuries and loss of life. Hmmm.

Back to the armed guard standing just inside or outside the one single entrance: He would likely be outgunned if a shooter had an automatic weapon or an accomplice. Or would that guard need to sit behind a sand-bagged machine gun? This idea assumes that each school would have trained, brave, competent, armed guard who could be recruited and equipped with, for example, a urinal, a coffee pot, snacks, and no-doze pills. This idea also assumes that said guards could unfailingly recognize all students and staff, all entering the school at about the same time, and could also with absolute fairness and certainty successfully challenge — and possibly shoot — any student who had a concealed weapon preparatory to an act of violence. Hmmm.

Gosh, Senator Cruz, your idea appears unworkable. Was it a sincere idea? May I remind you that risk assessment is a profession with expert knowledge, based on lots of research and experience. The experts report that risks cannot be eliminated, certainly not in a large society. There is, however, little doubt among them — and among sincere, reasonable people — that the risk of mass shootings is higher where there are more guns and lax or no gun safety laws.  Senator Cruz, you know this is true, you with your world-class education and elevated position in America. To argue otherwise is quite beneath you.  

Will Newman

Tiverton

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