\n<\/p>\n
We need to focus on solutions that could have directly prevented the deaths that occurred in Nashville, Tennessee at the Covenant School\u2014not unrelated gun control measures that would not have saved a single life in this situation.<\/strong><\/p>\n Anti-gun activists and politicians cannot name a single gun control law that would have prevented this shooting, according to the details we have from the most recent reports at the time of distribution.<\/u><\/p>\n Arming Teachers<\/strong><\/p>\n We must discuss real solutions to preventing this type of evil from striking again by arming willing teachers\u2014which is a solution supported by 81% of police.[i]<\/a> Absolutely nothing should come between a teacher who wants to defend children and their right to carry a firearm.<\/strong> No school that has armed teachers or staff has ever experienced a mass shooting.<\/u>[ii]<\/a> If our elected officials are important enough to receive armed protection, so too should our children!<\/strong><\/p>\n Repealing the \u00adGun-Free School Zones Act<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n We must also repeal then-Senator Biden\u2019s unconstitutional Gun-Free School Zones Act<\/em> which leaves our children vulnerable to criminals and our parents unarmed to defend them.[iii]<\/a> The Gun-Free School Zones Act <\/em>is a blanket ban on firearms on school property[iv]<\/a> with the sole exception of self-defense minded Americans with the permission of their state and local governments.[v]<\/a> Even in the 1990s, it was not outrageous that Americans would carry firearms on school grounds for self-defense.<\/p>\n But the red-tape enacted in the Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990 <\/em>is outdated three decades later when half of the country\u2014twenty-five states[vi]<\/a>\u2014have enacted Constitutional Carry or permitless carry laws\u2014and at least 32 states allow armed teachers, parents, and school resource officers on campus.[vii]<\/a> For this reason, Gun Owners of America endorses Rep. Thomas Massie\u2019s H.R. 7417, the Safe Students Act<\/em>.[viii]<\/a> This bill would eliminate federal restrictions unnecessarily placed between a teacher or parent and their right to defend our children.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Armed Guards and Other Hardening Alternatives\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n While society may see fit to place police or armed guards in schools, this is not a one-or-the-other type choice. Teachers and parents must <\/em>be allowed to carry firearms, according to common sense and our Constitution. On the other hand, schools may choose to harden themselves in other ways.<\/p>\n But remember, no matter how hard of a target we make our schools, securities and defenses may be penetrated. Banks get robbed. Security guards can be targeted, as was the case in Buffalo, New York.[ix]<\/a> Listen to GOA\u2019s Florida State Director, who also served as a School Resource Officer:<\/p>\n Part of my law enforcement career was spent working as a school resource officer in Florida. I was charged with protecting our most cherished of resources: our children. I made it my mission to ensure the safety of the children entrusted to my care. I would have given my life, if necessary.<\/em><\/p>\n But the hard truth is that I was just one cop on the campus; I couldn\u2019t be everywhere at once.<\/em><\/strong> I patrolled the grounds, I made sure the gates were locked and the doors were shut, and I kept watch for strangers. Still, one officer is not enough, given that most modern schools are vast and sprawling.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n We must be honest about what makes a school safe, and right now, as a society, we are not being serious. The desire to \u201cdo something,\u201d has been met by politicians actually enacting counterproductive legislation. It\u2019s time to reverse course\u2026 I know more needs to be done and no, the answer isn\u2019t gun control.[x]<\/strong><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n Ultimately, the most important thing we can do as a nation is to allow school faculty and parents to exercise their constitutionally protected right to defend their lives and the lives of our children. <\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n [i]<\/a> PoliceOne. Gun Policy & Law Enforcement Survey<\/em>. 2013. 14.https:\/\/www.gunowners.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/PoliceOnes-2013-Gun-Policy-Law-Enforcement-Survey-Results.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n [ii]<\/a> Lott. Another School Shooting in a Place where teachers and staff were banned from carrying guns: Robb Elementary School in the Uvalde, Texas CISD<\/em>. 2022. https:\/\/crimeresearch.org\/2022\/05\/another-school-shooting-in-a-place-where-teachers-and-staff-were-banned-from-carrying-guns-robb-elementary-school-in-the-uvalde-texas-cisd\/<\/a><\/p>\n [iii]<\/a> 18 U.S.C. 922(q).<\/p>\n [iv]<\/a> 18 U.S.C. 922(q)(2)(A).<\/p>\n [v]<\/a> 18 U.S.C. 922(q)(2)(B).<\/p>\n [vi]<\/a> United States Concealed Carry Association. State Concealed Carry Permit Requirements<\/em>. https:\/\/www.usconcealedcarry.com\/resources\/terminology\/types-of-concealed-carry-licensurepermitting-policies\/unrestricted\/<\/a><\/p>\n [vii]<\/a> \u201cWhich States Allow Teachers to Carry Concealed<\/a>\u201d. United States Concealed Carry Association<\/em>. May 29th<\/sup>, 2022.<\/p>\n [viii]<\/a> Rep. Thomas Massie. H.R. 7415 the Safe Students Act.<\/em> 117th<\/sup> Congress.<\/p>\n [ix]<\/a> Prokupecz and Maxouris. What we know about Buffalo supermarket shooting suspect.<\/em> 2022. https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2022\/05\/15\/us\/payton-gendron-buffalo-shooting-suspect-what-we-know\/index.html<\/a><\/p>\n [x]<\/a> Valdes. \u201cWhen Seconds Count, Cops Are Minutes To An Hour Away<\/a>\u201d. Daily Caller<\/em>. June 12th<\/sup>, 2022.<\/p>\n
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