6 Realistic Ways To Stop School Shootings

In the last few days, we have seen the gun rights debate shift back and forth as gun grabbers desperately try to leverage senseless slaughter into a chance to advance their agenda.  At the same time, they remain notoriously silent about mothers and children in Section 8 housing that are being murdered and raped because of gun control laws and gun free zones.

Regardless of the facts, and regardless of where each person stands on the personal choice to own a gun, there has never been a better time to do something about school shootings and then move on to addressing other ills caused by gun control.

Here are six things you can advocate for, or take part in to help make this country a better and safer place for yourself and the children of this nation.

Make Schools As Safe As Political Buildings

If there is one thing every gun rights advocate knows, it is that gun free zones are the most dangerous places on Earth.  No matter whether you look at our own gun free zones, or nations like Nigeria where only terrorists have guns, innocent people are always the first to die while criminals laugh and create even more havoc.

Here in the United States, however, we have a successful model for keeping people safe using guns.  You have only to look at the court houses and other buildings where armed guards patrol and investigate every person entering the premises.  We can, and should do the same in the schools, with a few adaptions to these models.

Even though some advocate for the arming of teachers, these professionals can easily become overwhelmed by violent, disruptive, or abusive students.  Today, even highly qualified teachers with excellent classroom skills wind up calling in the police, who in turn, wind up tasing the students and arresting them.

Under these circumstances, it does not make sense to ask one armed teacher to face a room of students that may turn and seize the gun.

Instead, it would be best to have two to four trained and well armed sheriff or police officers constantly patrolling each floor (or 1 per wing) of the school building.  Unlike officers responding to classroom violence, these officers would be in place solely to address any threats that may come in from outside the building.

They would also be the best people to lead the students to safe locations or assist in rescue in the event of an earthquake, tornado, or other large scale catastrophe.

The real answer to stopping school bombings and gun massacres is to prevent people with these sick intentions from ever getting into the school building to begin with.  In combination with getting rid of gun free zones, the buildings and parking lots for schools should be fenced off.

The only people that should be able to get onto the school property should have to go through a checkpoint where their person, vehicle, and possessions are carefully searched for weapons and explosives.  During the ID check stage, anyone that has no legitimate business on school property should be immediately turned away.

Keeping the checkpoints far enough away from the buildings would prevent all guns and weapons from getting into the school. In the event of a bomb threat, the problem can also be neutralized far enough from the school and the children trying to learn within its walls.

Bring Back and Update Reform Schools

Over the last few days, I have spent more than a little bit of time listening and seeing what other people think would solve the problem of school shootings.  Many people brought up the lack of respect and manners in the younger generation, and claimed that a lack of faith in God is leading the path to destruction for our children.

Even without prayer in the schools, there is no reason for it to be absent in the home or encouraged among friends after school.

While God can work some incredible miracles, the violent media, video games, and harsh anti-psychotic drugs are brutal challenges to overcome. Study after study reveals that when a person remains in the environment where dysfunction occurs, the chance for overcoming it is much lower.

This is why we must bring back reform schools with highly structured settings.  The best thing we can do for children that cannot function in either a normal or special needs class is:

  • put them in a school that focuses on discipline, responsibility, and integrity.
  • Address mental health and social health issues without the use of drugs, mind manipulation or other tricks that might mask lack of true behavior remodeling.
  • Use psychological profiles to determine the best rewards and punishment methods for each person. This includes the option to use corporal punishment for those who will respond with appropriate behavior changes.
  • Make sure they have absolutely no access to TV, video games, fictional books, or other materials that might contain hidden triggers to already dangerously brainwashed minds.
  • Make sure they have absolutely no access to old friends or acquaintances that may be encouraging violent behavior or inappropriate views of the rights of others.
  • Live 24/7 in a highly controlled setting with progressively increased options for making choice until the reform process is completed.
  • Do not put a absolute exit date on graduation from reform school. It should be entirely possible to keep severely dysfunctional people like Cruz under tight wraps for life, if necessary.
  • Do not try to make junior military or other programs as a replacement for the very real need for reform school. These programs should be reserved for the best and brightest who can function at a socially appropriate level.

Get Rid of Psych Drugs

Did you know that children under 1 year old are already being given prescription drugs for ADHD, panic, anxiety, and other mental disorders?  All of these drugs can easily have a long term and harmful impact on the developing brain and nervous system.

This, in turn, can increase the risk of violent behavior an dysfunctional thinking for the rest of the person’s life.

When it comes to stopping violence, getting rid of prescription psych drugs for children is every bit as important as getting rid of gun free zones.  These drugs are known to increase the risk of violent actions and associated thinking.

In fact, just about every recent school massacre was carried out by a teenager that was on these drugs.

While many people believe these drugs indicate the presence of an underlying medical condition, some studies indicate this may not be the case.  Frequently, drugs used for ADHD and other “attention deficit” related disorders are recommended by teachers that cannot control the class.

In many cases, doctors go ahead and treat children for these “disorders” based on the word of the teacher, and may do very little, if anything to find out of the underlying problem has nothing to do with a mental disorder.

Rather than medicate our children into passive aggressiveness during school hours, we should remove these drugs and use discipline instead.  If necessary, it would be best to use drugs only as a last resort and within a reform school setting.

In fact, if a person is on these drugs, they should not be released into society to begin with.

Now – I am aware that some people will call this a true Orwellian nightmare, and one that can be exploited. On the other side of the equation, I believe that the destructive behaviors we are seeing have little, if anything to do with mental illness or some bizarre inner urge to destroy everything in sight.

Instead, I maintain these predatory behaviors have everything to do with children and young adults that act this way simply because they can without concern for consequences.  They want attention, and because they, themselves give attention to violent media, it may seem like a good  model to mimic.

If they know there will be no fanfare, no hysteria, and no coddling, this will take away the reward for violent behavior.  When they understand that they may be going to reform school with no end date, or have to deal with other curtailments of their freedoms, they will be even more inspired to get their behavior under control; just as we all learned to do during those critical years.

Best of all, as they overcome the challenges of growing into healthy citizens, they won’t be weighted down by the idea that they are sick or need a drug from cradle to grave in order to keep them within socially acceptable limits. That confidence alone is worth more than a drug could ever give them.

When you See Something, Say Something

Regardless of the squabble over the activism of the children who survived in Florida, there is no question that this was an unspeakable tragedy that citizens of our nation have suffered too many times.  If there is one useful thing that has come out of this last event, it is people are paying attention now and actively looking to stop the next event from ever happening.

We all must continue to monitor social networking venues, student conversations, and interactions.  Rooms, cell phones, backpacks, vehicles, and every aspect of teens lives must be examined, investigated, and questioned.  If you even suspect a problem, it is best to report it, and document the facts if possible.

Aside from this, it is every bit as important to apply “see something say something” to violent media and entertainment venues. Do not assume that a book (including text books), music, video game, movie, TV show, or the cute looking app your kids are playing with is non-violent and safe because of the rating or air timing.

Take time to pay attention to the color patterns, music cues, and subtle signals. Use the materials yourself for a few hours a day for at least a week.  Work in parent groups, and see how you feel compared to each other, and document everything.  Are you feeling more violent, confused, or disturbed? If so, this is not a game to allow your children or teens to play.

When you find any kind of media that leaves you feeling uncomfortable, immediately report it other parents so that they also have a chance to investigate. Do not hesitate to use social networking venues and other resources to manage this problem.

Never forget that we now live in a world where our enemies are expert in mind manipulation and brainwashing through subtle media cues that can be delivered with the precision and tailoring you would expect of private emails.  At the same time, it is hard to catch and prove, and even harder to prosecute as a crime.

The best thing you can do is investigate on your own, or simply limit all access to these poisonous venues.

Teach and Maintain Respect for Life and Respect of Self

For those of us born to older generations, we are not inclined to be confused by which bathroom to use, or gender identity.  Today’s youth are being told that respect for life suggests going against heterosexual instincts and associated social values so that those who have less represented instincts don’t feel discriminated against.

If that isn’t confusing to a heterosexual teen with surging hormones, I don’t know what is.

While respect for life must always include compassion and equality, these things must come from within and from a place of confidence in one’s own gender orientation (which in our species is a fundamental element of adulthood); whatever that may be.

Children and teens that have respect for life can and should be able to interact in a positive way with anyone regardless of gender orientation.  At the same time, they should not have to give up their own personal freedom and social need.  If your child or teen is not comfortable with going to a bathroom or locker room with someone of the opposite anatomical gender in the room, do not hesitate to homeschool.

There  are vouchers available, and plenty of resources to help you give your child a good education and time to sort these matters out in a place of privacy and safety.

If you give it some thought, you may already know that confusion can be a very stressful feeling. When you must also perform a complicated task such as learning something new, these distracting confusions can lead to a sense of frustration, anger, and fear.

These emotions, in turn, can lead to an eruption of violence, especially when there are so many video games and entertainment sources that encourage violence as an acceptable, even valued behavior model.

Historically speaking, and even in our own times, sadly, we could look at the kind of violence surrounding racial interactions; and consider that underlying confusions and frustrations become horrific acts that no person with respect for life or self would ever do.

It should be noted that European and others have no problems with these kinds of gender identity issues, however their culture is very different, and their bathrooms and other facilities have been co-ed for some time.

Perhaps in two or three generations, this problem will also resolve in our society.  In the meantime, children and teens may need a bit more care and consideration than we have been led to believe on these matters.

Talk to Each Other

We live in a society where people use words and phrases to make each other angry in order to  avoid meaningful and honest conversation.   This, in turn, has led to people pulling away from each other.  When there is no well formed opposition to the lies, brainwashing becomes easier  and takes even more control of innocent minds.

No matter whether this brainwashing comes in the form of memes created by foreign agents, or it comes from groups within the United States intent on achieving specific agendas, the results are the same. We as a nation grow weaker, and our ability to  work together becomes impossible.

A nation divided is like a house divided – it cannot stand.

Over the years, I have observed gun grabbers interacting with gun rights advocates using these red flags (words that are meant to invoke anger) to divide people.  This prevents or limits the ability of gun owners from effectively presenting the true facts and the winning the debate.

Think about it.  If you are trying to tell the truth to someone that is  brainwashed into thinking gun owners are aggressive, or less educated, what happens when you respond in kind to a red flag instead of calmly address the lack of accurate facts?

All your audience has been programmed to see, and therefore they only see an angry (read dangerous) person with a gun.  Quite frankly, I feel it is this one factor more than any other that has enabled the gun grabbers to progress in a society that is, historically, pro-gun.

When you bring hurting teens that want pain inflicted with guns to stop  into a conversation that is already manipulated against gun rights, it is unspeakable to lash out at them for expressing themselves.

No matter whether you are in the right or not insofar as your position on gun rights, once it is perceived you are picking on someone weaker or smaller than yourself, or one that is hurting, everyone will move to defend the weaker.

It is far better for your audience to see an adult gun grabber exposed as crazed, craven, desperate, grasping at straws, downright wrong on the facts, and unable to do more than scream obscenities while you remain calm.

And believe me – they do every time when you remain calm and correct their distortions with on topic and accurate facts from mainstream, statistical, or government sources.  As you become proficient, you may even find this to be an enjoyable hobby.

Watching coverage of the survivors in Florida and other school massacres is both visceral and painful.  They, and us will never be able to go back to the days when the world at least felt like a semi-safe place.

The problem of attacks on our schools by random agents of terror from within our own society cannot be solved by just one option. It requires a combination approach that actually solves the problem without creating new ones.  In this case, we can use some legal means such as limiting access to school grounds and addressing mental and behavioral issues.

We can also take steps to adjust our relationships with each other, and those who oppose gun owner rights so that we can have honest conversations that lead to constructive answers.

Written by

Carmela Tyrrell is committed to off gridding for survival and every day life. She is currently working on combining vertical container gardening with hydroponics. Tyrrell is also exploring ways to integrate magnetic and solar power generation methods. On any given day, her husband and six cats give thanks that she has not yet blown up the house. You can send Carmela a message at editor [at] survivopedia.com.

Latest comments
  • THANKS CARMELA FOR WRITING THE ARTICLE AND SAYING THE THINGS THAT REALLY NEED TO BE SAID. I ESPECIALLY AM FOND OF THE REFORM SCHOOL APPROACH. I CAN ATTEST AS ONE WHO WAS PLACED IN SUCH AN ENVIRONMENT AS A TEENAGER THAT IT REALLY DOES WORK. NOW I AM 76 AND HAVE NEVER TURNED BACK TO THE CRIMINAL LIFE I WAS IN PRIOR TO THE REFORM SCHOO, and in fact led a very productive and meaningful life afterwards.

    I agree with each and every one of your suggestions. Now, the task is getting this kind of article in front of our leaders.. I suggest forwarding this article to President trump, VP Pence, and all local representatives and Senators. Perhaps carmela could set up forwarding links on the site for just such an endeavor.

    • Doug,

      I will check with my editor. I don’t have any way to set that up on the site, but maybe we can work something out.

  • Great article. right on methods and actions that need to be implemented immediately. Thank You Carmela

  • Two points:
    1. The “armed guards” must have the guts to take action when needed. ref: broward county sheriff’s deputies
    2. “see something say something” this was done and the FBI (federal bureau of incompetence) sat on thier collective asses and did nothing.

    these two points must be addressed and rectified if any real attempt at a solution is undertaken.

    • If there is a armed guard on the premises, and it is well known, there will be no incidence .

    • Absolutely on point …….Heads must roll for this ………… ..let’s further add that something must be done about violence in movies, tv shows, video games and music. We live in a culture of violence, killing, and destruction. This must all end. If not, the killing will continue !

  • The reform school idea, as well as your other ideas, are very well thought out. Thank you for taking the time to share your i. I am 84 years old and have seen the lack of disciplinE and the lack of consequences for actions has hurt our young people! And then the drug problem is unbelievable. Thanks again!!

    • When I was in grade school back in the late’40s/early ’50s they had an alternate school called “pre-vocational” school, to which students who were not making it academically or discipline-wise were sent. Several disruptive students in classes that I had were sent there and we never had any problems in the school.

      • Exactly.

        I think a lot of problems these days also comes from the fact that we shift all learning venues towards visual and auditory learners. People that are tactile learners are at a disadvantage. Kids that need the wind in their face and earth beneath their feet need recess, play time, and unstructured gym classes. We have gotten too far away from the needs of the body and demand too much going against nature.

  • Excellent article.

  • I sent this Suggestion to my senators and congressman. INstall a small biometric safe in each classroom and each office in every school. These would have to be permanently installed in the wall or floor.
    Only the teachers or administrators who volunteer, and attend training, would have a weapon in their safe. The weapon could even have a biometric safety so that only the person assigned could use it.
    Not every teacher or admin would want to have access to a weapon but no one outside would know which safe contained a weapon.

    • A.H. Johnson,

      I thought about the safes, but disregarded that idea because of how fast a shooting event occurs. The guard or teacher would have to get to the safe, open it, and then put the gun into battery. I don’t see that happening in 3 – 7 minutes with a shooter at the door or passing, and students panicking.

      • respectfully, how long does it take to walk over to a gun safe and put your thumb on the biometric pad and pop open the safe and grab a loaded weapon to defend your classroom or office?
        My main point is that if every classroom and office in every school is equipped with a safe no one knows whether it has a weapon in it or not. they have to assume every school is locked and loaded.
        If you hear a gunshot down the hall you certainly have time to open the safe and tell your students to hide behind whatever while you point your weapon at the door and wait for a bad guy to enter.
        If the gunman pops open your door before shooting you don’t have any chance anyway.

        • A.H. Johnson,

          If you are in a situation, even one second to perform this kind of task is too long. Don’t forget – life threatening situations come with adrenalin surges. In that moment, you can completely forget the procedure for getting the gun and many other things. If guns are going to be in the school, they have to be carried in real time to be effective against an armed shooter.

          Also- biometirc with just one person having the access is a bad idea. if the person with the metric gets shot, no on else can use the gun to protect the survivors.

          • if an active shooter bursts into the room who do you think is the first target? the person with concealed carry. right? so what is this one second you are talking about?

            do you think you can clear your holster and shoot while you are being shot? Maybe, maybe not.

            as for biometric, more than one person can have access. look it up.

            do you really want teachers and administrators carrying a weapon at all times? what happens when someone sucker punches the teacher and takes their weapon? Have you even thought about that?

            I give up, you have all the answers.

          • A.H. Johnson,

            if you go back and read my article, I pointed out pretty much what you wrote here – guns in the hands of the teachers is NOT a good option because they can overwhelmed by the students.

            Insofar as going to a safe and getting the gun out – it’s a non-starter precisely because of what you just pointed out. The person will already be a target. If they are heading for the safe, they will be shot before they get there.

            Going to a safe, or anywhere else will always take longer than pulling from a hip holster, flash bang holster, or shoulder holster. The other disadvantage to having to go to a safe is you cannot take cover while you are drawing the gun and putting it into battery.

          • How many students would try to overwhelm a teacher? What schools are you thinking of? Broward County is part of the Florida Gold Coast. Perhaps in an inner city, but the students who would take over already have their own weapons, and often smuggle them into the school. Armed teachers in other nations have stopped shooters.

          • Red,

            It all depends on the mood of the class and what they think they can get in the way of attention. All I know for sure is I’ve seen the headlines about kids disrupting and fighting to the point where they were tased by the police right in the classroom. The very fact that we have “school resource officers” tells me there is a very serious problem in the schools.; and that threat from the students themselves is violent in nature. It would not take much to go the next step and attack a teacher, especially if the kids are on psych drugs that release inhibitions or make them feel high in some other way.

          • The school district is loaded with immigrants and the children of immigrant. People frightened of the police. this was a 5th grade class. We have teachers in the family. They have to go by the playbook. No teaching without permission from the liberals. Private schools in the area are booming because no teacher wants their child schooled by the government. It always comes back to liberalism kills.

          • Red,

            Funny thing you should mention the playbook – as in federal guidelines. the doctors are under the same pressure. They are licensed by the government. Under clinton, the guidelines, if I’m not mistaken, were expanded to provide “consistent” care. A doctor these days cannot go outside of a set of diagnostic/treatment steps even if they may secretly believe something else would be more appropriate. These guidelines are reinforced by insurance companies, which makes it even worse.

        • If I knew there was a safes in every school with a guns in it. I would add more guns to my collection 😉

          • please reread my comment. not every safe would have a gun because not every teacher or administrator would be willing to protect their students.

            Also, the safes would be permanently installed. it would take a crowbar and large hammer to remove them. shouldn’t we have better protection against break-ins than that? Do you know any thief who can spend that kind of time in a secured area popping open safes in hopes of finding a weapon? What if the custodian removed each weapon at the end of the evening and put them in a walk-in safe, then someone returned them to the safes early each morning?

            I give up, everyone thinks it’s a bad idea. Let’s just let the bureaucrats protect us. right? they are just not going to give us open or concealed carry in a school. Just not going to happen, unless they are law enforcement of some kind.

  • Since you have all the answers, how are you going to fund all this? You didn’t address that. Govt magic piggy bank?

    • TheMatrix,

      There is plenty of money available, our leaders just have to cut the money from something else. I do have some ideas just from a cursory look at the federal budget, and could probably find areas in the state budgets where the money could come from.

      The other thing – for the actual labor of building the fences and such – we have a pre-paid (sort of) work force in student loan borrowers who do not have jobs or cannot make full payments. Put them to work and take it off their debt. That would cut the cost in under 1/2, and leave the cost of materials and supplies.

      • You have a good idea, but why not include able bodied people on unemployment. we already pay them, and many would (I believe) welcome something to make them fell like they were contributing to society.

        • Happyjack,

          Very true!!

      • Cut welfare substantially from people too laZy and sorry to work, make those people work for their “guv mint muny”. There is plenty of money available if it is prioritIzed correctly.

    • redirect planed parenthood funding. huh stuck on caps…How anoying

  • those who want to eliminate guns for the citizens do not care about safety. what they really want is to eliminate firearms to allow them to install communism

    • Mwood,

      I agree – gun grabbers don’t care about our safety – and that is proven around the world as well as here.

      They install communism already by taking part in government and making it do their bidding. We can stop that by taking part ourselves, being informed, and using similar activism channels. There are many challenges.

      I’ve studied gun grabbers for a while now – and have not yet arrived at a conclusion about their reason. It’s more of a process of exposing the flaws in their expressed “reasons” and trying to figure out what they haven’t let loose with that drives them.

    • Or simply to kill us outright. Hitler was a gun-grabber. Once the citizenry is disarmed, how can genocide be far behind?

      • beth,

        The real danger is them getting ahold of government and military resources combined with a magnetic leader that has this kind of insanity. Those kinds of leaders – mercifully – are very rare.

        as a citizenry – we are outmatched insofar as weapons – and that has been going on for decades now. Quite frankly – we are already killing ourselves with deadly GMOs and too many drugs. There is no point to a gun style genocide against the people. Besides that, they need our tax dollar to pay for all their toys. So – as uncomfortable as it is – they need us and we need to become them through elections and taking part in government.

        This is why we have take part in our government and clean up debate and fact finding skills. We must also be investigative voters. WE must vet our candidates with great care, make our primary votes count, and seal the deal at election time. WE must also follow through on our intent to vote with our dollars. Just don’t buy or shop in any business that has a gun free zone posting.

  • Unless you address funding issues, having full time security will not occur. In most states education is barely scraping by.
    This will take budget action by legislators before this can be widespread.
    I think it is worth it. Its a matter of who is willing to pay for it.

    • Bob,

      Please see my response to thematrix. I know we can find the money and the labor to do this.

  • Good and sound suggestions. I like the ‘Reform” school idea, with some tweaking. And more than one or two school security guards in a school. The reforms school should include an entire staff of counselors (not just one or two) trained in recognizing the difference between a rebellious youth and a youth with a continuing mental problem.

  • gOOD WELL WRITTEN aRTICLE;. i WOULD ADD:

    INCLUDE PERIMETER SAFETY IN STEP NUMBER ONE. SPECIFICALLY, nO ONE SHOULD BE ABLE TO ENTER THE GROUNDS OF A SCHOOL/CAMPUS WITH OUT PASSING THROUGH A CHECK POINT. ALL TREES AND BRUSH WHERE A SNIPER COULD HANG OUT WAITING FOR RECESS SHOULD BE CLEARED. kEEPING SHOOTERS OUT OF THE BUILDING IS VERY IMPORTANT, BUT KEEPING STUDENTS AND TEACHERS SAFE WHILE THEY ARE OUTSIDE THE BUILDINGS IS EQUALLY IMPORTANT. WE HAVE SEEN IN LAS VEGAS, WHAT CAN HAPPEN WHEN A SNIPER IS PERCHED IN CONCEALED POSITION.

    • Rock,

      You are 110% right; and I hand’t considered this. I was so focused on trying to find an answer that covered bombings, shootings, and other attacks inside the building, I hadn’t considered snipers. You are right though – and with the copycats – they may try that one.

  • I live in Maryland, where there are some very restrictive gun laws… but guess what… we still have a lot of crime. Following the horror in Parkland florida, an amazing thing has happened here. Several threats and planned attacks have been uncovered. Gee, what a surprise, huh? No one seems to realize this has probably occurred because of the event in Florida – the schools and local, state and federal law enforcement have obviously been ordered to catch-up / follow-up on reported issues.

    This will stop with time. School officials need to be trained in security and pyschology and then trained again. Federal, state and county/city budgets need to include funding for adequate training and staff in both schools and law enforcement. There is little doubt the FBI is overtaxed and under staffed. i’d say it would be rare to see anyone “sitting around on their asses”… they are forced to prioritize cases, due to being overburdened. Up until now, the deluge of reports about potentially dangerous kids has been seen largely as a nuisance. The many (reports) have outweighed the few serious ones, and so we wind up with a case like the one in Parkland.

    I’ve been advocating school fencing, checkpoints, metal detectors, real-time security cameras, etc. in schools for months. It falls on deaf ears for two reasons: (1) those who know little to nothing about guns seem to think it is a magic pill to take something away from everyone else.; and (2) because of the billions it would cost to outfit the 100,000+ public schools in this country. Yet, every administration spends billions on unnecessary things… like the $1.3 trillion tax cut that mostly benefits the already incredibly rich.

    • Jeanette,

      I agree – limiting guns isn’t the answer. I have been studying gun rights and gun control here and globally for some time now. The problems in Nigeria alone should be enough to indicate gun control is more trouble than it is worth. When you factor in the rise in car related massacres, acid attacks, and other problems in European nations – the whole argument for gun control goes out the window. People that want to kill and maim will find a way. Guns are minor compared to what is out there.

  • Mwood is right! It has little to do with child safety. It has more to do with leaving the citizenry disarmed so that the power brokers can impose whatever they wish on the citizens.

    • Roger Random,

      I bet you dollars to donuts those power brokers have bigger and badder weapons than the American citizens. We have to get smart and start thinking about how to lead in our government and make the people strong.

  • People who don’t deal with mental health at all love to throw out the “get rid of psych drugs” excuse without any idea of what they are talking about.
    Having worked with people with mental health issues for about 18 years, I can tell you that if we did take the psych drugs away we would have a 10 fold increase in shootings, suicide, violent crime, and a bunch of other issues. Psych drugs are the only thing keeping many people stable enough to allow them to live a somewhat normal life. Yes, they are prescribed to WAY too many people especially kids, and yes, pretty much all of the mass shooters have been on them, but we are confusing the issue. In psychology there is a term “contributing factor,” which means what it says. For example, violent video games are a contributing factor to these mass shooters, but it isn’t the cause. There are generally going to be several things that contribute to someone losing it and going on a shooting spree such as: When they stop taking their psych meds, lack of family structure, violent video games/movies, tendencies toward violence in general, poor coping skills, being bullied in school, etc. Now, of course most people can experience one or most of those issues above, but that doesn’t mean they will go out and kill people, but we have to look at the totality of the situation to see what contributed to the problem. This last shooter didn’t have any family, Sounds like he played violent video games, and it sounds like he had violent anti-social tendencies. THAT is where the blame lies!

    • TAd,

      We need to at least take psych drugs off the table for kids under the age of 21. Put them in reform school where they can be deprogrammed from violent video games and such before doping them up and concluding they are living within normal social bounds.

      • unless your are a doctor, shrink, psycologist, or pharmacist, how do you know what is needed when?
        I think they are over used like opiods, but some people need them now not at 21.
        I do believe age needs to be considered, but I do not know the appropriate age to start these meds.
        Medical professional personnel needs to be consolidated, and at least 2 different doctors before parents start to feed pills to their children.

        • Happyjack,

          I picked 21 because that is the legal age to buy alcohol. if we aren’t mature enough or developed enough or whatever enough to have a beer before age 21, it makes no sense to use mind altering drugs before that time unless other methods (like reform school and deprogramming) fail.

    • True ……..! Very True, however, if many of these factors combine in a person of weak constitution, than the other alternative to killing others would be killing themselves because they just cannot cope with the internal conflicts any longer. Check the Teen suicide rates…….. i bet they have risen, sad to say !

  • All this talk of cops in schools. No one thought of retired VETS, like me..
    1..We are already trained and a lot are experienced with firearms.
    2. we work cheaper that cops and free them to track down criminals.
    3. Being retired, we can appear “grandfather-like” , Could easier for kids to talk to them. (some are afraid of police).
    4. we are ready to help again. We served once, and most are able to serve again.
    5. Before the charge of comments, all these “guards” needed to be vetted thoroughly(of course). before walking into any school..

    • I think that’s an outstanding idea!

    • William Glass ! I totally agree !

      with m wood
      I totally agree ! and also they want to take our guns so that they (government) are the only ones with guns, so they can control us and make us do their will (hitler’s germany)

      also with happyjack, 3rd bn ,75th inf abn
      I totally agree ! This is the most intelligent way to deal with protecting our school children !

      • William,

        Please see my responses to Beth and Roger random.

        We need guns for self defense, home defense and hunting. All guns are important in these venues because of the gangs – most of which still cannot outpace an AR style weapoin.

        • AR with a bump stock is what I meant to say. ACtually – we need to lift restrictions on machine guns so people, especially in section 8 housing or inner cities can defend themselves properly.

          • Bump-Stocks GRRRR typing in all Caps! are money maker someone came up with to make money.!!!
            One can use a simple rubber band or perhaps a piece of string and do the same thing. so ban them all you want and save people money!

            I like some of what you Propose and I disagree with other items!. Certainly secure the perimeter have limited Entry Control points…….
            various BUSINESSES COULD DONATE THE FENCING AND ASSORTED NEEDED MATERIALS.
            Security layered in depth. I do believe any teacher that wants to be armed and go through whatever training necessary should do so. TheY would be the last resort…..as for storage and security of the firearm…perhaps a carbine type rifle such as the old M-1 .3o carbine or one of the newer carbines in .40 S&W OR SOME SUCH CALIBER. such are details and valid need to know could be worked out…..TO KEEP THE STUDENTS FROM KNOWING…..PERHAPS A FALSE PANEL IN THE DESK…..
            your opinion on the shooter can take out the armed teacher is bogus…… as pointed out above. The shooter(s is down the hall and there are numerous class rooms, and has no idea of who and in what room is in there and as far as the shooter(s) know there are no firearms.
            if you are concerned about being shot for being armed, then it would happen anywhere you go when you are armed.
            Again Armed teachers are a last resort….The shooter(s) are going to shoot no matter what…..at least the teachers and students can have a chance that is better than no chance!

            armed leos/”resource officers” like police outside the school are minutes away when seconds count. THEY CANNOT POSSIBLY BE EVERYWHERE WHEN THEYY ARE NEEDED……..
            RETIRED OR “REGULAR” VETERANS ARE OUT THERE WANTING TO VOLUNTEER TO BE IN SCHOOLS……
            SINCE YOU ARE SO CONCERNED ABOUT TEACHERS LOOSING THEIR FIREARM TO STUDENTS WHAT IF THE REAOURCE OFFICER OR THE VETERAN IS OVERHELMED AND THEIR FIIREARMS ARE TAKEN AWAY FROM THEM???

            A SERIOUS PROBLEM ARE A LOT OF TEEN CHILDREN DO NOT HAVE TWO PARENTS….SOME DO NOT HAVE EVEN ONE AND ARE WITH THEIR GRANDPARENT(S) OR OTHER RELATIVE…..
            tHEY NEED TO BE LEARN SELF RESPECT/ SELF VALUE, BEFORE THEY CAN RESPECT ANYONE ELSE……..

          • Yosemite,

            I didn’t know about the rubber band trick!! Wow… It fits well what I have been saying – though – where there is a will there is a way.

            I still feel that if a teacher is going to have a gun in the room, they should be wearing it. Even if that teacher has to respond to a shooter in the hallway – it is still faster to draw a gun that is worn on the body than have to unlock it from a desk or some other location.

            I agree with you on the lack of respect in the schools these days. This is why I recommended MULTIPLE officers constantly patrolling the hallways. If we are going to have teachers as a last ditch against shooters, we must also give them the right kind of backup. Even SWAT and police snipers work in teams.

            I also agree veterans are a good choice, especially because we now also have bombs and other devices to consider, and a very real need to have more people onhand dedicated to rapid evacuation of the building.

    • Happyjack,

      I think if vets can be comfortable being crowded by people, loud noises going off, and teens constantly trying to get a rise out of them – sure. Why not?

      Training wise – yes – you have the gun smarts. But the tactics required here – are probably closer to MP. The best models i’ve seen on the civilian side are the TSA and Sheriffs.

      As an expansion of this model – you would still need at least 1 or 2 people in every school with advanced training – as in SEALS or others that are trained to run into danger and will commit to taking the kill shot. LEOS are supposed to have that. It boggles my mind that Peterson stayed outside the building.

      • You appear to lack info about military training. Most vets have military security training.
        I;m tired with this love of SEALs. They are great, however they are Not our only troops.
        Have you ever heard of Rangers, air commandos, marine forced recon, airborne, and many other special troops that are in our great military. There are also Military Police, air police, shore patrol, and other that have security training. If these people can secure and guard anything asked by our military, how do you think they would guard our children. How many decorated military personnel are in our population? Thousands maybe millions. Many are fathers and grandfathers, like me, would chance our lives to protect and save children.
        do you think for one moment that these people, many are combat vets, would hesitate going into a school when a shooter is there?
        TSA could not protect anyone from anything. Guns and weapons are still getting by TSA. Maybe in support, if metal detectors are used
        God bless our police, but they are limited by money to get enough trained people just to enforce our laws. where is the money to increase their numbers. all I hear is how short on personnel they are, and you want to increase their workload. we can not get enough deputies and guards now. where are the people to fill those jobs?
        we need to get real with this problem and use every asset to protect our children.
        ps I;m a father of 6 and grandfather of 24, and I would lay down my life for any of them. what about yo?

        • Happyjack,

          Can vets do this job – yes. As you point out – though – not every veteran can. And what about the ones like my father – that would have wanted to protect the children and would have laid down his life as much as someone with no ptsd problems? He is not alone in that. I just don’t want to put more on them by creating a system that would focus on attracting former military, and then turn them away. picking LEOS was my compromise. I figure many of them were in the military, so in the end, we still have veterans serving in these tasks.

          You are also correct = my father’s PTSD was very serious and should have been treated. I am still proud of him.

      • Right ……. But they will easily kill an unarmed black man in an instant………..go figure that one out !

    • And BTW – my father was a combat veteran – Korea. Even in the last years of his life – there were things you just couldn’t do around him. His ability to control the cringes and such ebbed and flowed.

      I have every confidence that vets hearts and commitment are in the right place. Schools these days are the civilian version of war zones in some areas – and I do feel the kids will take advantage.. It would cost a very high price for veterans,I feel – and you have already given so much.

      • Bullshit. There are many vets that can handle this assignment.
        I’m sorry your dad did not get the help he needed, but that help is available at the VA, all you have to do is ask for help.
        I guess you fell like many civilians, keep them in glass for the next war, and forget about all the training and life experiences they have acquired through out their live.
        As a vet, I am sorry about your dad, but you need to remember he is not all vets.
        Many are in congress and other state and government positions..

  • Boy, I can contribute a lot about this article.

    1. Hardening schools is cost prohibitive and having to go through TSA type scrutiny to get in would require even longer school days. Armed,, selected school staff makes more sense, with signs posted on entry doors and on property approaches.

    2. Reform schools would be of use to deal with troublemakers, not nut cases. Mentally ill “students” need to be in institutions geared to dealing with their unique problems since they are not just juvenile delinquents.. discipline, at home and school are seriously lacking in the development of kids today, as is religious guidance, which is also absent from home these days where a growing number of families. no longer attend church. We need a daily prayer to begin each school day at the same time with the Pledge of Allegiance.. “Entertainment” has been on a downward spiral since the mid 1960’s. Today, Rap music, a lot of TV, most movies, and video games are not worth a dime, in fact, they are harmful to everyone’s mental health and even civilization itself. There were once review boards that just didn’t rate movies, etc, they actually censored things that were not fit for public consumption. That’s why we didn’t have the problems of today back in the days of Leave It To Beaver.

    3. ALL kinds of (legal) medications are over prescribed and overused today, add to that the illegal drugs. and we have an over medicated population. Have an unruly kid in class and the solution today is drug them. Discipline would solve many cases. Students and other people with serious mental issues should not be medicated and left in the general population, they should be locked away in mental institutions and given meaningful treatment.

    4. “See something, say something” seems to be of little use even though it still should be used. Numerous cases where mass shooters were not dealt with led to tragedy. The latest case in Florida was the result of more than 45 “say something” alerts that were properly pursued.

    5. “Teach and Maintain”, alone with “Talk To each other” have been casualties of the electronic era. People use their devices more than speech to communicate, even at home where faces are buried in the tiny screens more than face to face talk, texting or playing a worthless game. Is it any wonder that a teach and maintain environment is impossible, much less the chance of any religious guidance to surface in the home and with so much to do electronically, who has time or the inclination to go to church, even occasionally?

    We have some very big problems in America today with morals and civility and they can only be corrected by going back to many of the ways things used to be before the electronic age and when civilization and moral conduct were expected as the norm.

    • Bob,

      With regards to the cost of hardening the schools – the lives of our children are absolutely worth it. We spend money on so many other things that do not serve our communities. Take the money out of all those hidden funds and embezzler hideaways. I’m sure there are billions of dollars easy to tap right this minute.

      I am not just looking at guns here, I am very concerned about things like Oklahoma City. The fact that anyone can walk onto and around a school campus (more pourus than our national borders) is the worst possible disgrace. The kids are sitting ducks; and that has to change by giving them the same level of security while in school that courthouses and such have. what works there will work for our schools.

  • GOOD ARTICLE BUT YOU DID NOT GO FAR ENOUGH BACK AS TO THE CAUSE OF ALL OF THE MENTAL ILLNESS THAT IS COMMON WITH ALL OF THE SHOOTERS. VACCINATIONS THAT CONTAIN TOXIC MIND ALTERING INGREDIENTS SUCH AS MERCURY AND ALUMINUM START BABIES OFF WITH LIFE CHANGING ILLNESES THAT RESULT IN FUTURE DEPENDENCE ON PSYCHOTIC DRUGS FOR ADHD AS WELL AS OTHER SUICIDAL TENDENCIES. IT IS ALL PART OF THE PHARMACEUTICAL BUSINESS PLAN THAT BRINGS IN BILLIONS OF DOLLARS TO AN INDUSTRY THAT TREATS BUT NEVER ACTUALLY ENDS THE MOMEY STREAM BY PRESCIBING A CURE.

    • Ed –

      Good point on the vaccines. this is something I am just immersing on now. I think adults are also suffering from the effects of all these injections.

  • This neglects to address “copy cat” crimes.
    pathetic nobodys know, that the can get instant notoriety, if they do something horrible,
    and the media will give them a spot in the limelight of history.
    The media dwells on, and profits from stories about massacres and other disasters.
    maybe, we should all point out, who profits from dead kids.

    • Daniel,

      I do think getting attention is a factor. When combined with the vdeo games – seeing other succeed would be even more of a motivation. If you are correct – though – it indicates for a certain – gun control won’t work. They will just look for some other way to achieve their goal.

    • The media sensationalizes these crimes because bad news gets ratings and sells newspapers! I was a reporter for a local newspaper in the 1970s and gave it up because they were not printing the truth about events, and started putting a spin on the stories., all to make a bigger profit. And people now buy into this. Rags like the National Inquirer and the globe…did george w. bush really father an alien baby? People tend to believe everything they see online, on tv, or in the papers.

  • totally agree ! with Bob l.

  • hi Carmela ! i read most of your articles and agree with most all of them ! however i don’t totally agree with your idea of not arming teachers ! i do agree that some untrained teachers should not be armed ! however I worked in several schools in years past and know for a fact that many teachers with proper firearms training would not only be adept at protecting students, but would welcome the opportunity to be able to protect the students that they value & love !

    Carmela , the idea of reform schools may be of some value ! but as bob L. mentions above, i’m sure you’ll agree that would not be a proper place for mentally ill people to be placed ! mentally ill patients need to be placed in institutions that can mercifully care for and correct their problems if possible ! If it is not possible to correct their problems, then they should be kept there for life ! also (reform schools) and those in authority in them and the conditions that exist there, probably should be monitored regularly, as in past years there have been instances of abuse of the inmates in these institutions ! i also noticed that in your article above that you made the statement about (reform schools) that ( ” This includes the option to use corporal punishment for those who (will respond) with appropriate behavior changes” .! ). maybe you meant to say (will not respond) with appropriate behavior changes ! : -)

    also happy jacks comment above about using retired vets is also the most intelligent way to protect students !

    I do thank you or your efforts to bring forward intelligent & informative articles about a multitude of topics !

  • hi Carmela ! i read most of your articles and agree with most all of them ! however i don’t totally agree with your idea of not arming teachers ! i do agree that some untrained teachers should not be armed ! however I worked in several schools in years past and know for a fact that many teachers with proper firearms training would not only be adept at protecting students, but would welcome the opportunity to be able to protect the students that they value & love !

    Carmela , the idea of reform schools may be of some value, but as ( bob L. mentions above i’m sure you’ll agree that would not be a proper place for mentally ill people to be placed ! mentally ill patients need to be placed in institutions that can mercifully care for and correct their problems if possible ! If it is not possible to correct their problems, then they should be kept there for life ! also (reform schools) and those in authority in them and the conditions that exist there, probably should be monitored regularly, as there have been instances in the past of abuse of the inmates in these institutions ! i also noticed that in your article above that you made the statement about (reform schools) that ( ” This includes the option to use corporal punishment for those who (will respond) with appropriate behavior changes” .! ) maybe you meant to say (will not respond) with appropriate behavior changes ! : -)

    also happy jacks comment above about using retired vets is also the most intelligent way to protect students !

    I do thank you for all your intelligent & informitive articles on diverse subjects !

  • Teachers are not the Reason kids are being medicated. We are not allowed to suggest such to parents.

    • Robin,

      My understanding is many times the referral for using anti-psych drugs starts with teachers that notice “disruptive” behavior in the classroom. Has this changed in the last few years? If so, how?

      • This is Pennsylvania. My stepson was 11 when they started to drug him with Aderol and something else. The teacher said at a parent-teacher meeting, “Bob sharpened his pencils too often.” Then she had the gall to add “After all, he is Native American and probably wants revenge.” We tried a lawyer, but the school demanded it. After all, he’s 3rd class citizen, a Native American. Oh, and as a preteen, he was friends with the National Guard in town, working for them, he swept out the building, ran errands, and so on. Some years later, he made top in the Army, though he didn’t get past Private 1st Class. He would have gone on to Army Intelligence, then the CIA (with recommendations from family in AI), but declined because he learned to hate school and authority, thanks to those liberal teachers who forced him into drugs. By the time he was 12, he tried mary jane, by 15 cocaine and nazism. Five years ago, age 25, he graduated to needle addict. He’s off that, thanks to Christian friends, but is now experimenting with meth. Liberalism is the best way to suicide mentally.

        • Red

          This is my understanding of how the kids come to be referred for psych drugs. The teacher sees an “abnormal” behavior and the doctor “follows up”. In the meantime, no one talks about what stocks the doctor has, how many dinners they have with pharmaceutical reps, and how much prestige they get for publishing studies and such.

          • The teacher assumed there would be trouble because Bob is Native American. I have teachers in the family as well as student councilors and psychologists. She acted on bigotry. IN Penna, if a teacher claims you have poor eyesight, you have to go to an opthemologist and he/she will fit your for glasses, if you need them or not. That’s liberalism, slavery for all.

          • Red,

            I am sorry for what the system did to your son because of his ancestry. No one should have to go through this. The system needs to change. All the children are our future. What we do to hurt them or hobble them – no good can come of that for us or them.

          • Thank you. What I statred was tip of the iceberg. Penna is a very liberal state politically, but the people usually very conservative. As said, illigrants vote for who they are told to vote for. In the last few elections, we’ve managed to get the word out from the ktana’i (a Native American priesthood) to hispanic curanderos, and the curanderos were telling people if they vote for the abortionists, they’re cursed. Walk in beauty.

          • Red,

            I agree with you – there is much more.

            From what I can see, every area of our life is regulated through business, who in turn, are regulated by government guidelines. Food, transportation, water, education, even our social interactions via one means or another.

            I must be jaded, because sometimes I laugh at the supposed conflict between business and government. The only ones that lose are the people.

            But brainwashing and poison can only go so far to deceive. There is a core in every person – even the staunchest liberal – that constantly fights to be free. One day the control mechanisms such as psych drugs and mind bombs will fail and people will rebel. those who think they have sealed off all the avenues, will get a big surprise. I don’t know where or how, I only know we all are meant to be free.

  • To stop the criminal or evil person from getting the chance to have a place to do the dirty work ,,, don’t give them s u c h an easy place to to do it in . If the schools were not “” g u n f r e e z o n e s “” There would not have been so many ATTEMPTS happening . g e t rid of “” G U N F R E E Z O N E S “” “”

  • What I don’t see mentioned is the damage the american diet is doing to our bodies and Brains. Please read the Book “Food and Behavior” by Barbara reed stitt. she is a retired chief probation officer in ohio who first-hand turned lives around by correcting their diets.
    children living on donuts and soda highly processed foods, high suguar content grown with pesticides and HERBICIDES HIDDEN chemicals have caused DEPRESSION, anxiety,IRRITABILITY and violence when laced with pysch drugs and poor family ENVIRONMENT. The food industry, as far as I am concerned, is more culpable then the NRA could ever be.

    • kathy,

      Excellent point – and I agree with you! WE can change this through what we feed our kids at home, and also what we choose to buy for ourselves. They cannot stay in the business of peddling poison if we don’t buy it.

      I have been immersing on this topic for some time, and might want to do an article on the most dangerous foods on the market these days.

  • Good ideas but finding money would be the problem. My school took years before we got doors that locked from the inside the reason no money!!!

    • Sakina,

      We can find the money. Please see my response to the Matrix. There is so much graft in the federal budget alone, we could build the fences and pay for the staff dozens of times over and not blink an eye.

  • The dems are not going to allow anyone to mess with a great deal, their shooting galleries. It means tons more votes from the deperate and the dems love it. If you think not, look up Tarahumara Famine. 9,000 died and the dems shrugged it off. Look up slavery in the US. half a million, most of them kids, and the dems can’t be bothered (and yep, they’re still the slavery party). Never expect humanity from a liberal, they have no idea what it is.

    • Red,

      I have only to look at the broken bodies and frightened eyes of women and children in section 8 housing, or the homeless to see what the agenda is. These people need guns to protect themselves, not gun free zones and an application process that demands a physical address.

  • I’m all for retired vets, as Happy Jack stated. I know my youngest freshman daughter would welcome him/her. Me too! A student was arrested from her school, a couple days after the Florida shooting. For making threats on social media! Crazy! We talk. This should not be a money issue.. These are our children.

    • Dave,

      I cannot believe the number of kids making these crazy statements. In my teen years – I was very sarcastic – but this is a whole new level of language craziness. But then again – look at what they are dealing with.

      With the exception of perimeter defenses, I think the internal workings for each school will depend on the demographics of the students, and each class. The internals have to be dynamic and change with the needs of each class and its changes over time. Veterans can certainly play a role in helping secure the schools, but it must be done with care.

      in my day – we NEVER had police going to the school, let alone a ‘school resource officer”. When I first heard about those, it was mind boggling. What puzzles me even more – is how modern parents accept this as “normal”. Clearly – it isn’t.

  • William,

    i do, in fact, believe that rigorous routine and pushing those with mental problems to focus on the tangible world is better than doping them up and encouraging them to limit their aspirations to what others think is ok for them. We could have specialty reform schools where these people get additional counseling, but in the end, they have to focus correctly on tangible realities.

    I meant respond with appropriate behavior changes. Some people would not respond well – ie. become overly fearful or hide aggressive tendencies until it is too late to change them. It depends on the psychological profile of the person.

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  • Ballistic Shields could have saved the lives of many assault weapon victims.

    Picture this the deranged gunman enters the church, rock concert, or other densely packed gathering. A dozen muscular athletic male attendees grab for the readily available Riot Shields with attached stun guns. Several of these men are killed in so doing but the remainders charge the psycho/terrorist zap him with their stun guns and take him into custody so that he (and thus his enablers) can stand trial and, subsequently proceed to execution, a few years later!

    With a defense/law enforcement budget that ballons into the hundreds of billions of dollars each years, would not, hundreds of thousands of ballastic shields scattered in key locations throughout America be but a pittance of this enormous budget.

    Wake up America! Why should you trust your survival to the Johnny Come Lately Boys in Blue?.

    Supply us with ballistic shields that could save hundreds of lives each year.

    George Meredith MD
    Virginia Beach

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  • I will give you two things that can be done quickly and cheaply…
    1. Closed campus’s.. Control the traffic in and out.
    2. Uniforms. Remove the social competition.
    Our schools have a police car parked at the entrance of the building and no one knows if there is an armed policeman in there or not. and all doors are locked except one that is
    where it can be watched by the office.
    Uniforms are a ‘hard sell’ but I note that many private schools do this, and it becomes a matter of school pride.

    • yes, lets dress all school children the same. Then we could call them Trump Youth. Sounds great to me. way to promote learning and growth.
      Have everyone dress the same , thin k the same, look the same. reminds me of a book or two (1984 and brave new world). If you have not read one, try it.
      However, I do agree that some kind traffic control would be a very good start.
      I still believe that retired Vets, fully vetted. are a resource that is little talked about. WHY??? if you have an answer, let me know.

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