Free Republic

Should schools have teachers carry guns? Abstract With 20 states having teachers and staff carrying guns to varying degrees on school property, we don’t need to guess how the policy would work. Fears of teachers carrying guns in terms of accidents or other problems have not materialized. Letting teachers carry is the only effective way to overcome the strategic advantages of mass public killers. The other alternatives to preventing mass public shootings have real limits.

It was a typical Friday night at Gable House Bowl in Torrance — people celebrating birthdays, friends meeting up for a few rounds of bowling at the end of the workweek. Then gunfire erupted. People scrambled for cover. When it was over, three people lay dead inside, including two 28-year-old men who were best friends. Four others were injured. On Saturday morning, friends and relatives of the victims huddled in a nearby parking lot, waiting for the bodies to be brought out — and for answers about what happened.

This doesn’t happen anywhere else on the planet,” said California’s Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom. “We stand alone in the world in the number of mass shootings," echoed U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y. These were typical comments after an alleged shooter murdered 12 people in Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks, Calif. People have been acting for a long time like the United States is the world’s hotbed of mass public shootings. Following a 2015 mass shooting during his administration, President Barack Obama declared: “The one thing we do know is that we have a pattern now of mass shootings in...

Toronto’s police union boss is dismissing a city handgun ban as a way of addressing the escalating crime and homicides in the city. As the Toronto Sun reports, Toronto Police Association President Mike McCormack broke his silence on the proposed ban Monday, saying, “A handgun ban would fail to stop Toronto’s violence and murders. I would support anything that would have an impact, but a ban wouldn’t get to the core of the issue. A municipal government banning handguns will have zero impact.” Toronto Mayor John Tory disagreed with the police force president and continued to demand a total handgun...

Thousands of guns recovered in Maryland last year traced back to 49 states, but the largest portion of firearms was bought locally… ATF agents were able to determine where nearly 5,900 of the firearms were sold, according to a new analysis by the ATF, which publishes the findings of its gun traces each year. Some 47 percent were bought in Maryland, the ATF found. Virginia ranked second and supplied about 15 percent of the guns. Pennsylvania came third with nearly 7 percent. Some firearms were bought as far away as Texas (101 guns) and California (46 guns).

Children are heading back to school with the debate over gun safety still raging six months after the Parkland massacre — and no issue is more heated than whether gun-free zones make students safer or more endangered. Led by President Trump, gun rights backers are increasingly on the offensive, pushing to roll back the general policy consensus, enshrined in federal law, that guns and schools generally don’t mix. A study by John R. Lott Jr., a gun crimes researcher, said close to 98 percent of mass shootings happen in gun-free zones, suggesting that they do little to stop, and may...

Police are seeking drive-by shooters who sprayed a house in Cheetham Hill, an area of Manchester with an “entrenched criminal culture” and the site of several anti-terror raids. Two-men on a “moped-style motorbike” opened fire on a terraced house on Galsworthy Avenue around 12.40 a.m. on Friday morning in what is believed to be a “targeted attack”, the Manchester Evening News reports. “It’s still early in our investigation, and we are working to establish the full circumstances of the incident, but it appears this was a targeted attack,” commented Detective Chief Inspector Richard Ennis. “While we carry out enquiries, patrols...

Another mass shooting, and another round of talking heads is clamoring for “common-sense” gun control.  The latest massacre, at Santa Fe High School in Texas, lead to the murder of 10 people by deranged teenager Dimitrious Pagourtzis, who stole the firearms from his father. After suffering intense humiliation from a would-be girlfriend, he went on a shooting spree in unhinged retaliation. This is beyond terrible. The rapid pace of gun massacres must be confronted, especially at public schools.The media are not helping, of course. They over-cover these tragedies and relentless push a gun control agenda. We still don’t know what...

The polls indicate that Americans support more gun control right now, but are also very skeptical that more gun control will reduce violence or mass public shootings. We typically see such increased support temporarily after mass public shootings. To win the debate, proponents of the right to self-defense must explain how their proposals are practical. They must explain how gun control actually makes people more vulnerable to attack. Everyone wants to do something about mass public shootings. But while gun control advocates call for more gun control within an hour of attacks, such as the high school shooting in Parkland,...

A newspaper in Oregon is running this poll...

(CNSNews.com) – Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) told NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday that the majority of mass public shootings take place in gun-free zones like schools. To this end, he has proposed legislation repealing the Gun-Free School Zone Act on 1990, which makes it illegal for someone to bring a gun on school grounds. Massie said the solution to school shootings is putting more than one armed guard at school or allowing teachers to be armed, adding that “98 percent of mass public shootings happen in a gun free zone.” “And we’ve labeled all of our schools as gun...

When Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel Was Accused of Corruption, He Responded: 'Lions Don't Care About the Opinions of Sheep' Israel reportedly hired his political supporters to do outreach for the police. Robby Soave|Feb. 23, 2018 2:16 pm Scott IsraelMichael Laughlin/ZUMA Press/NewscomBroward County Sheriff Scott Israel—the man whose agency failed to prevent the Parkland massacre despite having received a tip last November that Nikolas Cruz was plotting a mass shooting—has been accused of public corruption. Two years ago, the Sun Sentinel reported that Israel was rewarding top political supporters by giving them and their family members cushy jobs doing public...

Lily Eskelsen García: “Thoughts and prayers are not enough.” WASHINGTON - November 15, 2017 - NEA President Lily Eskelsen García issued the following statement in reaction to yesterday’s shooting in Northern California, which targeted students and educators at Rancho Tehama Elementary School:“We pray for the victims of this latest tragedy in Tehama County, California, and the schoolchildren and adults shot by another out-of-control man who could spray bullets through a classroom and down the street with a rapid-fire weapon. We’re grateful to the educators who heroically protected their students in this rural school, the heroes in a Texas church, and...

Gunmen in masks opened fire during a rave in east London, despite the laws prohibiting citizens from possessing handguns. The incident happened on Oct. 28 at the “Money Move” rave in the district of Leyton in northeast London. The U.K. Sun reported that the venue was described as an African church, which was often hired for raves. At least three men wearing clown, ghost and ghoul masks entered the establishment with automatic weapons and began firing, according to The Sun. A 41-year-old man was shot in the leg and a woman believed to be in her 20s was shot in...

Dr. John Lott gave a talk on the Crime Prevention Research Center’s on Mass Public Shootings and Gun-free zones. Unfortunately, the first few minutes of the beginning of the talk is missing. The first reference is to a quote from former President Obama that if guns stop mass public shootings, the US shouldn’t have any mass shootings. Beyond Lott’s response to that point in the video, a list of mass public shootings that were stopped by concealed handgun permit holders. The slides in the talk are based on information in his book “The War on Guns.” . . .

A bill being considered in the Ohio legislature would reform the penalties for someone carrying a concealed handgun in current "gun free" zones. Current penalties are extreme. A person who inadvertently enters such a zone in Ohio is subject to a felony charge, a maximum of 12 months in prison, and a $2,500 fine. A felony conviction removes the right to vote, or to own a fire arm under the Second Amendment.  People who have concealed carry permits are, statistically, some of the most law abiding people in the country. They are far more law abiding than the population...

Between the shootings in Washington DC and the shooting at the UPS warehouse in San Francisco, the no gun allow cities are faring too well today. So how is that working for you Dems? Meanwhile back in Chicago......

On 18 May, 2017, the Tennessee Legislature sent bill HB0508 to Governor Haslam for action. The bill was very popular in the legislature. It passed the House 71-14, and the Senate 26 to 6. The essence of the bill is that it requires local and state government entities to use more than mere signs to ban firearms from their premises. The common sense approach is that signs merely stop law abiding people from carrying, while doing little to prevent people armed with ill intent from entering such facilities. The mechanism to enforce the bill is that of private lawsuits....

On Thursday, May 4th, Georgia became the 12th state that mandates that public universities allow people to carry guns on campus. Following Arkansas, Georgia is also the second state to pass campus carry this year. The other eleven states are: Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Michigan (can carry openly with a permit), Mississippi, Oregon, Tennessee (faculty and staff), Texas, Utah and Wisconsin. Unlike Arkansas, the Georgia doesn't mandate additional requirements to carry on campus than in other places: "Georgia requires people to be at least 21 — or at least 18 with proof of basic training or active service in the...

Gov. Wolf wants to protect schools from mass public shootings by hiring “trained security professionals like school resource or police officers.” But a bill passed last week by the Senate Education Committee would allow school boards to let staff carry on school property as long as they have a concealed handgun permit and have gone through police-related firearms training. Wolf has already promised to veto the bill. The governor should reconsider. Letting teachers and staff carry concealed handguns is nothing new in the United States, and there has been good reason for allowing it. Police virtually always arrive after an...