The President of the United States wants to arm teachers and pay them more money because “I want my schools protected just like I want my banks protected...”
Let that sink in for a minute.
I grew up around guns, Michigan loves their firearms. I learned how to fire a weapon long before I could drive a car or vote or buy a beer. We'd burn through a thousand rounds of ammunition in a weekend like it was nothing.
I'm also a teacher. I've taught university level photography courses in San Francisco for almost ten years now. I've taught one of the most diverse student bodies around, about half of which are international students. I've had good students, I've had bad students, I've had very strange students, I've had students that I honestly believe needed professional psychiatric help.
Don't ask me to put a bullet in any one of them.
We have such staggering wealth in this country, wealth that seems almost immeasurable at times. Schools should be temples, filled with knowledge, books, facts and figures. Our schools should made of solid gold. Our educational budget should be double that of the Pentagon.
Education is the silver bullet. Not firearms.
People claim mental health is the issue... if the shooter is white. Muslims are terrorists, black people are criminals, white kids are "disturbed" or "sick." You want to stop school shootings? Stop giving kids guns. A 10 day waiting period before an 18 year old can get an Uzi is not a sensible solution, mental illness notwithstanding.
Access to weapons and ammunition is not a mental health issue.
To drive a car I must be of proper age, trained, tested, licensed and insured. I must renew that license on a regular basis. If I hit something with my car or act stupid with my car or drink and drive a car they take that license away.
Why should it be any different for a firearm?
People want to talk about freedom. Guns aren't freedom, they are weapons. People talk about protecting their families. Guns are for killing, not protecting. People like to say that criminals don't obey the law, so why ban guns for law abiding citizens? Locks only keep out the honest people, but we still lock our doors don't we. People like to talk about keeping the government in check, that the people have a right to fight back. If you think your personal arsenal is going to hold back the largest military force on earth, I have a bridge to sell you...
Guns aren't a check against tyranny, the rule of law is.
Schools aren't banks, that's why we don't protect them as such, the toddler in the White House should know that. Banks have money in them, people rob them for the money. People don't come to schools with weapons to steal things. They come to schools with weapons to kill people, because that's what weapons are for.
If you put weapons in schools, get ready for a body count.
Education is the silver bullet. Not firearms. I am an educator. Don't ask me to put a bullet in anyone...