The Armed Teacher | Eastern NC Now

    When my wife and I lived in Woodbridge, Virginia, We were very disturbed about the number of burglaries that were occurring in our surrounding neighborhoods. It was at that point that I decided that we needed a gun to protect ourselves and our property. Having NEVER owned a firearm of any kind, I sought help. Lucky for me, I found a gun shop where the owners were retired Virginia State Troopers. On entering the shop, I was amazed at the variety of firearms displayed. One of the owners helped me whittle down my choices until I decided upon a particular firearm. Upon my purchase, this retired State Trooper told me " this is the smartest purchase you will ever make because we are always TEN Minutes Late". As we have learned, or should have, LATE is not acceptable in the case of school shootings. Response time doesn't cut it when lives are on the line. Too much damage to lives of children and school personnel has already occurred. These attacks are immediate and demand immediate retaliation. Here's what I think needs to be done.

    First, many schools have already installed cages that require a person to wait before entering a school building. EVERY entrance to a school building needs one of these cages accompanied by a security camera. If every school has one school security officer, this officer should vet everyone, save school personnel, who attempts to enter the building. If this vetting requires a speedy response, put the officer on a motorized scooter. They do it in the Pentagon.

    Secondly, every classroom should have the same cage arrangement in the interior of the room so that teachers can safely monitor who is seeking admittance to their room.

    In the third place, we should arm and train every teacher, who wishes, in the use of firearms. Because of the holding nature of the classroom cage this gives a teacher time to load a firearm or riot gun and display it to an intruder. Of course a sign at every school entrance that states that the personnel of the building are armed and trained in the use of deadly should dissuade anyone from even trying.

    Because most if not all of school shooters are twisted cowards who prey on the unarmed, most of them will run. This will save a lot of lives and put a damper on any future attempts. News travels fast in the community of criminals. I believe these steps will send a message that we are serious about protecting our children and school personnel and will use deadly force IF NECESSARY. Of course much of this kind of activity could have been circumvented if we had done a much better job of training children's spirits and emotions and not trained only their bodies and minds.

Follow the Yellow Arrow
    John W. LaCava  •  Bath, NC  •  June 25, 2022