Monday, December 17, 2012
Arm the Teachers!
You most likely cannot stop a shooter without a gun yourself!
In just about every criminal action I can imagine, the police are not nearby, are not called promptly, and are therefore miles and many minutes away from the scene. The average response time is likely to be on the order of 10 to 15 minutes, and more in rural areas. This means that either individuals at home, or at work, or people at schools or theaters have a gap in official police defense of a minimum of 10 minutes, and most likely longer.
That is the rationale for many gun owners to buy weapons and learn to use them: for defense during the gap time. A few simple scenarios will make this clear.
Scenario 1: A pair of armed robbers break into your home, and try to subdue you with threats of using their guns. If you happen to be in a more remote part of the house, you could call 911, and from that time you can expect the police to arrive in 10 minutes or more. You can also pull out your weapon if you have one, and confront the robbers, providing others in your family are in the clear. The robbers often run at the sign of a weapon. If not, your best bet is to go with their demands, say, to lie down and be absolutely still while they ransack your house. If the robbers start shooting, you must try to shoot back to save your family and yourself. The robbers operate on a schedule of perhaps 10 minutes maximum, knowing that no alarm will summon the police any sooner most of the time. They will be long gone before then.
Scenario 2. You are a teacher in a school, and a deranged student appears with a gun or two and starts shooting whoever is in sight. There is no time for a call, and the shooting might take only 4 or 5 minutes to kill 10 or 20 students or faculty. You are not armed, so your only defense is to hide with your students or try to tackle the shooter. The latter maneuver is likely to cost you your life. The shooter operates on a schedule of perhaps 10 minutes maximum, knowing that no alarm will summon the police any sooner most of the time. He will be dead or gone before then.
It is obvious, then, from these scenarios that having a weapon immediately available can either scare the criminals off, or actually allow you to shoot them and prevent harm to family or students. This is the rationale for arming some of the faculty of schools, providing them with training and concealed carry permits, and allowing them to respond to such threats as has happened several times in the recent past. Many lives could have been saved if one or more armed teachers had confronted the shooter as he began his killing spree.
You most likely cannot stop a shooter without a gun yourself!
In just about every criminal action I can imagine, the police are not nearby, are not called promptly, and are therefore miles and many minutes away from the scene. The average response time is likely to be on the order of 10 to 15 minutes, and more in rural areas. This means that either individuals at home, or at work, or people at schools or theaters have a gap in official police defense of a minimum of 10 minutes, and most likely longer.
That is the rationale for many gun owners to buy weapons and learn to use them: for defense during the gap time. A few simple scenarios will make this clear.
Scenario 1: A pair of armed robbers break into your home, and try to subdue you with threats of using their guns. If you happen to be in a more remote part of the house, you could call 911, and from that time you can expect the police to arrive in 10 minutes or more. You can also pull out your weapon if you have one, and confront the robbers, providing others in your family are in the clear. The robbers often run at the sign of a weapon. If not, your best bet is to go with their demands, say, to lie down and be absolutely still while they ransack your house. If the robbers start shooting, you must try to shoot back to save your family and yourself. The robbers operate on a schedule of perhaps 10 minutes maximum, knowing that no alarm will summon the police any sooner most of the time. They will be long gone before then.
Scenario 2. You are a teacher in a school, and a deranged student appears with a gun or two and starts shooting whoever is in sight. There is no time for a call, and the shooting might take only 4 or 5 minutes to kill 10 or 20 students or faculty. You are not armed, so your only defense is to hide with your students or try to tackle the shooter. The latter maneuver is likely to cost you your life. The shooter operates on a schedule of perhaps 10 minutes maximum, knowing that no alarm will summon the police any sooner most of the time. He will be dead or gone before then.
It is obvious, then, from these scenarios that having a weapon immediately available can either scare the criminals off, or actually allow you to shoot them and prevent harm to family or students. This is the rationale for arming some of the faculty of schools, providing them with training and concealed carry permits, and allowing them to respond to such threats as has happened several times in the recent past. Many lives could have been saved if one or more armed teachers had confronted the shooter as he began his killing spree.
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