Nemerov: Toledo Blade Makes School Defense About Itself

by Howard Nemerov

First the good news: A rural Ohio school district has decided to arm staff in order to make students safer from insane people looking for notoriety. From The Toledo Blade:

Montpelier schools may be the first in Ohio to ramp up security by authorizing employees to carry weapons.

The district has about 1,000 students in kindergarten through 12th grade and 75 teachers in one building in this Williams County village of 4,000.

Now the bad news: The Blade entitled their piece "Armed-janitor plan draws mixed reaction from Montpelier parents."

So what's the "mixed reaction?" The Blade found one person who allegedly "disagreed."

Shannon Siler said she was not sold on the idea of having janitors holstered with guns. She said she prefers hiring police officers to tighten security in the school.

"I am a little leery. I know they are going to be doing all this training and stuff, but what if a janitor goes psychotic?" said Ms. Siler, the mother of two girls.

"There is a need to beef up security. ...But, it all starts at home. Lock your guns up.

That's the most controversial interview The Blade found: Somebody who preferred police while agreeing that more security is necessary. And what if a police officer goes psychotic? How many janitors have gone psychotic and rampaged through the school? Didn't Sandy Hook Elementary prove that psychotic individuals don’t need permission to carry a gun at school in order to mass murder? The Blade didn't examine such questions.

Another mother, Teresa Hickman, said: "I don't have a problem with it. With all the shootings going on in these little schools this will make me feel more at peace." And:

Mark Earle, father of two Montpelier students, said that arming janitors to deter violence could become a standard practice for schools in Ohio and throughout the country.

Montpelier Superintendent Jamie Grime noted the school board gave unanimous approval. Montpelier Police Chief Jeffrey Lehman referred them to Tactical Defense Institute, which provides training for the National Association of School Resource Officers. So there's broad community support.

This isn't the first time The Blade exposed their anti-rights beliefs. Ohio Second Amendment group Buckeye Firearms [Association] noted The Blade's belief that armed defenders shooting armed robbers is wrong because these "seemingly bad guys were shot while allegedly attempting to rob Toledo stores."

Being robbed at gunpoint is frightening, and we do not presume to judge, as police would say, the righteousness of either shooting. But it must be remembered that robbery is not a capital crime, and it's only by chance that no one other than the would-be robbers was injured. (Source here.)

Why would The Toledo Blade create "controversy" where there's none?

UPDATE: Chad Baus, Buckeye Firearms Vice Chairman, reports that he has talked with Superintendent Grime. Baus says that Grime did not specify that only janitors would participate in this program. That's a fabrication by The Toledo Blade."

Click here to read the entire article at The PJ Tatler.