In all of the agony surrounding innocent the horrific deaths of schoolchildren comes the politics, and the positions of every side about what to do. The whole situation needs a serious professional “think tank” to resolve. The recent article in the ASN by an elected representative did not provide much in the way of solutions or facts.

(1) The “gun” issue has been unchanged for my lifetime, 53 years. As an 18 year-old, I purchased a AK-47 and an M-4, both of which have been were available with countless 30-round mags. As far as my weapons are concerned, they have stayed unfired in an impregnable safe for 30 years, taken out only once per year for a cleaning and oiling. I keep them only because I have experienced extreme civil unrest in Atlanta, Georgia, after the initial Rodney King verdict was televised. At that point in time, the police could not protect all of the population and it was up to the population to protect themselves.

(2) Nobody with a sane mind can say that either of these weapons is meant for anything but killing human beings.   I resigned my membership with the NRA shortly after the first President Bush did because of the extreme positions the NRA were taking were taking then and still now.

(3) At this point, the problems of various agencies disseminating facts about mentally ill people is beyond reasonable explanation. How the ATF, FBI, local law enforcement, school counselors, mental health providers seemingly hide behind HIPA laws, is unconscionable.

(4) The police, particularly the Sherriff in South Florida, who develops policy and his Deputy who was sworn to protect those children, were at best, incompetent, and at worst, cowards that should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. They really need to be held to justice.

(5) I gained my expert firearms training at Marine Base Camp Pendleton. I would suspect that many school employees, maybe not necessarily teachers, maybe even janitors, could do a better job that that pitiful armed deputy, as long as they were trained.

I agree with POTUS recommendation that we arm, within reason, school employees to protect our children, whether they are teachers or janitors. I grew up in inner city Houston, Texas, in the first stages of school integration. I walked one mile to elementary school, and biked three miles to high school. I never felt unsafe, either in my commute or while in classes. That must be our goal – for children to be safe in going to school.

 

Walter Boyd, P.E.

Andalusia, Alabama