Should Teachers Be Armed?

Editor's Note: The following article was submitted to WalletHub.com in response to their request for comments for an article they published in lae 2016 entitled Should Teachers Be Armed? Experts Pick Sides. The article also features comments from Dr. John R. Lott and Ohio's own Ron Borsch, among others. It originally appeared on our website on February 6, 2017.

From the times of ancient yore when kings used guards to protect their castles, to our political leaders and celebrities today, we understand the need to protect people and things of value. For the most valuable assets, we employ armed security.

Nothing is more important or valuable than our children. They are the future for everything mankind has ever accomplished.

Over the past 50 years it has become increasingly common to target children, not just in war, but in terrorism and mass killings. Killing children is easier, allowing for higher death tolls (fame) and elicits strong emotional reaction.

When we fail at something, we find success by trying again with a different strategy. Examples abound in science, manufacturing, sports and any number of endeavors. Looking specifically at active killer response we see that law-enforcement and medical experts have made drastic changes to their policies. The outlier is our educational system where failed ideas have been repeated ad nauseam, while our children die.

If learning can be defined as a change in behavior, then why are our enlightened the last to learn?

Many lament that “guns don’t belong in schools.” Maybe not. But reality is a harsh mistress. Children should not get cancer either. But they do. Failure to address the problem only results in more loss of life.

Some kids need chemo. Some need armed protection. The fact that both are “rare” events is of little comfort when yours is the child in need. We can wait for a cancer diagnosis to begin treatment, but waiting till you need armed protection is like putting a seatbelt on a traffic fatality.

There is not really concern about guns in schools. Everyone knows police carry guns and should be summoned for killing events. Home invasion or active killer, we need our police and we need them fast.

The real concern is training. What people are uncomfortable with are untrained people carrying guns around our kids. Through the FASTER Saves Lives © program, we provide training to those individuals pre-selected by school boards to respond to violence. That does not mean the gun is the answer to all violence; it’s not. But it does mean that when it’s needed, there are trained, armed individuals who can end the violence faster than you will dial 911.

The class was designed by John Benner of Tactical Defense Institute. His knowledge, expertise and experience are unmatched. As Benner notes, “I realized I was training the wrong people. It’s not the cops I needed to train; it’s the educators. They are the ones in the building when the killing starts.”

In our 5th year, we have a proven program that works with any school. We are proud to be working with our nations experts in law enforcement and education to set the standard for what school safety and security are becoming. It’s time our educators discard failed ideals and employ armed staff to protect our children. They are worthy of it.

Jim Irvine, Director
FASTER Saves Lives
http://fastersaveslives.org/