Posted on 12/22/2012 7:43:47 PM PST by Red Steel
The National Rifle Association named former U.S. Congressman Asa Hutchinson as National Director of The National School Shield program. The hope is to reduce gun violence by promoting emergency response education and training.
"I think there are people in every community in this country who would be happy to serve if only someone asked them and gave them the training and certifications to do so," said Hutchinson.
During Hutchinson's speech, he brought up a particular program which is headquartered in Northwest Arkansas.
"In my home state of Arkansas, my son was a volunteer with a local group called WatchDOG dads, who volunteered their time at schools to patrol playgrounds and provide a measure of added security."
The WATCH D.O.G.S. (Dads of Great Students) program was founded in 1998, after a school shooting in Jonesboro claimed five lives.
"If it could happen in Jonesboro, it could happen in Springdale, it could happen anywhere in America... It started in Springdale but it became a national program. There are schools across the county that have this WatchDOG dad program," said Rick Schaeffer with the Springdale School District.
According to Schaeffer, volunteers undergo background checks but do not carry weapons. That, is something Hutchinson believes might change in the future.
"Armed, trained, qualified, school security personnel will be one element of that plan, but by no means the only element."
10 Springdale schools, eight elementary schools and two middle schools, already have parents protecting on campus through the WATCH D.O.G.S. program. While the district is already taking several security measures, armed volunteers is an idea Schaeffer said they are willing to listen to.
I would consider volunteering, and I’m not even a dad.
Obama has his "civilian army" funded as big as the regular army just waiting in the wings.
“Straight Outta Compton?”
“Straight Outta Compton?”
That is not a very smart move. You are placing this watch dog in just as much danger as the students. A weapon should be required.
People are nuts if they still beleive that more disarmed “protectors” are going to stop a madman bent on murder.
You can not get any more brave nor more determined in disarmed protection than the hero teacher, Ms. Soto, and she was murdered.
If she had been armed and trained to shoot, she could have been waiting for the POS to come near her room instead of using her body as a target for a madman.
Yeah, if i can’t carry then I’m not volunterring.
I’m not going to make myself a sitting duck.
Facts and logic are wasted on libtards.
Many say that CCW holders (teachers or volunteers) would be a bad idea.
Don’t we have volunteer firemen all over the U.S.?
Could it be that these same people would object to a fire extinguisher in the school?
Do they get a sign to hang around their neck that says, "Shoot me first"?
Each school should have 2-4 armed guards.(when it comes to people, ONE is rarely enough) Of course, the number of guards could vary, depending on the size of the schools. Two should be a minimum.
They should be paid ‘professionals’, and if a district complains about not having the funding to pay them, they can simply fire an equivalent number of Administrators to free up the money in their budgets.
That approach has the added bonus of letting students see that the average citizen can and should be allowed to exercise their 2nd amendment right, as opposed to continuing the false hood that there is a privileged class who is allowed and the rest of us who should be disallowed.
Well said!!!.....
Good point - we will know when he decides to start mobilization if he does a 180 and concedes we need armed people to protect against such violence.
You would have less security having teachers having to do both jobs. Specific people looking for suspicious behavior is optimal. Seconds count.
Example of ISDs with police departments via a Google search..
Texas town lets teachers carry concealed guns
snip
The superintendent wouldn’t reveal how many teachers carry weapons in the classroom so a potential shooter will not know. But he did say all of them must have a Concealed Handgun License, get the approval of the school board, and undergo additional training for accuracy.
“Their accuracy is probably going to be 100 percent,” Thweatt said. “The only people who have more shooting training in the State of Texas than my teachers are Highway Patrol.”
end snip
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