Lessons Not Learned
My job at times requires me to travel to Kansas City to the Richard Bolling Federal building. I dread these visits. Parking is a nightmare. Most visitor parking lots are within walking distance, but you’re not allowed to park on any of the streets surrounding the Federal building. This was a lesson learned from the Oklahoma City bombing.
There are only two pedestrian entrances to the building. Visitors must pass through a metal detector, and have their bags x-rayed on entry. The REAL-ID policy is in effect for this building, and a picture ID must be shown for entry. No weapons, including firearms or knives are permitted. Armed Federal Police monitor the entries, and at times can be seen roaming the halls. Lesson learned from previous incidents.
All emergency exits are monitored, and wired to an alarm system. Trip one, and you will quickly be explaining your actions to these federal police. Lesson learned from previous incidents.
There are codes that all employees are briefed on. Code Adam for a missing child. Code Gold for an active shooter. Drills are run periodically to keep the security team sharp in their response. All employees who work in the building are required to go through annual training on Active shooter, Terrorism awareness, and other security themed subjects. Lessons learned.
I say I dread these visits because security of this building borders on the verge of being a pain in the ass. But in reality, that’s necessary, and due to Lessons Learned. Our Federal building is safe. Lessons from the past have not been ignored, and the federal employees of that building do not take the safety measures for granted. Many of them have ties to the Federal Building in Oklahoma City.
We’ve instituted policies and measure to keep these workers safe. And yet down the road, at a High School and Middle school, our children go to school in an environment that is struggling to heed the lessons of the past. In 2014 the Republican controlled state General Assembly overrode the Democratic Governor veto on a bill that allows school districts to designate and authorize teachers to carry concealed weapons at school. Many counties throughout Missouri have increased funding to their school districts to hire full time Resource Officers. These efforts to keep our schools safe are a result of Lessons Learned.
And it has worked, here and in other parts of the country. There are many examples of Resource Officers, as well as teachers and faculty who have stopped school shootings from becoming larger tragedies. But not every school district in the nation has full time Resource Officers. Not every school district in the nation has armed teachers.
We have suffered through the mentality that to make us safe, we must remove the gun. Make the place a Gun Free Zone. The fallacy of that is so obvious it makes the argument mind numbingly stupid. The entire Nation is supposed to be a Drug Free zone. How’s that worked out for us?
I don’t advocate arming every citizen. Frankly, there are many of you out there that I don’t trust to tie your own shoes. But I’m flummoxed at the argument of removing guns from trained individuals who CAN make a difference. LEARN the LESSON!
Purdue University did a study in 2014 that found that having an armed individual at a school would have a dramatic effect on the outcome of a shooting incident.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - By mining the same data the FBI used to document the growing number of “active shooter” events in recent years, Purdue University researchers have created detailed computer modeling that reveals the two most salient means to slow a shooter: locks on schoolroom doors and armed school personnel.
Data studied by the Purdue Homeland Security Institute shows that shooters average three victims per minute. The average police response time is at least 10 minutes. Institute director Eric Dietz says it’s almost impossible to speed response time, but adding locks to doors and having a couple of armed employees on campus can effectively reduce response time and casualties.
“We’ve seen over and over a single resource officer, or even an armed teacher in a defensive position between attacker and students, can reduce the number of victims by up to 70 percent,” Dietz said. “They are the only two measures that consistently have significant results in detailed modeling.”
Dietz is presenting his research at an international conference in Orlando this week. Purdue, along with schools and universities around the nation, have turned to the institute to help craft their emergency and safety preparedness and response plans
The key here is response time. The extreme view on Gun Control would have all guns removed. And that has been the effect in declaring Schools and other areas Gun Free zones. In doing so, you now rely on the response time of the police to stop an active shooter. So the extreme view then turns to the gun.
Yet banning guns has NEVER stopped gun violence (or any violence for that matter). Look at Chicago. DC. And other major cities with strict gun control measures. The violence continues. There is, however, one city that has had success. New York. But the success there, compared to Chicago or DC has one factor that the others don’t: An increase in Police presence. In other words, remove the guns, but add more armed sentinals.
And banning classes of guns won’t work either. The Columbine High School Massacre occurred in 1999, during the Assault Weapons Ban. The ban did not stop those two shooters from obtaining the semi-automatic weapons they used.
The simple fact is the Gun Control advocates zero in on only one issue in such tragedies: the gun. But investigations tell us that there were other issues associated with these incidents that could have prevented them. Issues of mental health. Issues of failed reporting. Issues of failed “law” enforcement. These are lessons not learned. We haven’t learned them because we have allowed the focus to be on the gun, and removing the gun. And when we remove the gun from those who CAN stop these tragedies, we have failed to learn.
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Most active shooters are cowards. That's why they choose soft, gun free zones. IN allmost every instance where an active shooter was met by another individual with a gun, the active shooter was stopped.
You want everyone to walk down the street packing heat so they can be ready at the drop of a hat to shoot someone.
What a sad way to live.
The gun culture must be dissipated. It will take many years , even decades, but that is what needs to be done.
The alternative is dystopia.
Perhaps you missed this part of my article John:
Try reading the whole article next time.
Serious questions John - do you own any guns? Have you taken any firearms safety courses? Have you ever been in the military?
Sadly, your responses will probably be "No" to each question and, that being the case, you don't/can't understand the safety consciousness of registered gun-owners.
As an example - Dad was career military, I was also. Dad took me to the Army shooting ranges and enrolled me in the Shooter Safety programs, I got involved in competition shooting when I was 10. In the military, I was on the USMC Rifle/Pistol team, the USCG Rifle/Pistol team, conducted live fire in Vietnam with an M-14, M-60 and .50 Cal and, after the military, I joined local shooting clubs strictly for the competition.
I have one firearm in the house that I keep loaded, safety on, well hidden. My wife and daughter have no idea where the Browning Hi-Power 9mm pistol is - and they don't want to know.
I respect firearms because I know what type/kinds of damage they can do in the hands of the uneducated/non-safety conscious person. I will never "force" my wife or daughter to use a firearm because they both abhor them (they're from Venezuela where firearms are "supposed" to be banned), but they respect my desire to offer what protection to the household I can.
The existing laws regarding firearms are strong - IF they are followed. Unfortunately, some unscrupulous dealers don't follow the Fed regulations. Cities, such as yours, have the POWER to enforce the firearms laws/regulations, but they don't have the manpower - hence the hoods/gangstra's can get their weapons on choice any damn where they want for whatever amount they can afford.
New laws/regs won't help. Only self-conscious people and scrupulous dealers will.
You do know that there are more people killed by cars/trains/buses/motorcycles than by firearms, don't you? Are you in favor of banning them?
Explain - or did you forget the "/s/" tag?
Where did Bruce state this? Be specific, please.
Thank you for writing an excellent article and providing the Purdue link, Bruce. I find it stunning that in 2018, those who are vehemently anti-gun insist on remaining willfully ignorant of so many factors that can, and do, deter mass murder. They actually believe that only stricter gun laws will stop mentally ill people from committing mass murder.
All of the schools in the towns/cities where I live have had armed Resource Officers for over a decade. Many of them also have armed security guards (retired military and police officers). There have also been discussions about including teachers.
Anyone interviewed regarding Nick Cruz has said that they saw his mental instability and penchant for violence on social media (guns, knives, gutting and killing animals). We have to do more to teach people that "If you see something, SAY something" isn't something to ignore. How many red flags do people need to see before they speak up??
Rather than arm employees in Federal buildings, they instituted 'pain in the ass' security that you admit keeps the workers there safe.
You admit that the 'pain in the ass' security is based on 'lessons learned'.
Why don't Federal Buildings encourage MORE armed non LEO workers?
Why isn't 'pain in the ass' security the solution for schools?
Why don't schools have more armed security like they do in Federal Buildings?
That wasn't the solution you posted in your seed.
That's what I advocate for, MORE school security by trained and uniformed LEOs. If it's good enough to protect Federal workers, it should work for schools.
But as you described, it isn't JUST armed security, it's metal detectors and ex-ray machines, it's alarmed exits and control of entrance and egress.
There were armed security guards at Parkland and at least one Broward County Sheriff on duty. Obviously NOT enough...
How to pay for it.
Initially, the Federal and State governments should pony up the BILLIONS that it will cost EVERY YEAR.
Note to self, buy stock in metal detectors and wands...
Well how about a tax on every gun [or ammo] sold going to funding school security?
How about every application for CC permit having a couple bucks added going to the same fund too?
15 years ago, in the small town my mom lives in [700 population], there was a robbery at the bank in which 3 people were murdered, including the armed security guard. To this day there is still a police officer on duty at that bank...
It's actually authored, not seeded. But that's neither here nor there.
I'm am with you on all of this. The example I use, my state of Missouri, has taken several steps to achieve a more secure school. The arming of teachers is an option, not a requirment. Obviously some counties can afford to hire more armed security and that is what they are doing. For counties that can't afford that, an option is armed faculty.
I agree with added taxes to gun sales, ammo sales etc to help pay for this.
It's a good one, provided they are well-trained. The more armed personnel a school has, the better. Town/City/County LE cannot possibly respond as quickly as on-premises school personnel can.
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