Gun Control & RKBA

which I feel they are, what can be done right now to prevent such tragedies?

Banning evil looking semi-automatic rifles such as the AR-15 will not eliminate school schoolings. A shooter at Virginia Tech back in 2007 managed to kill 32 people and wound 17 others with two semiautomatic pistols. Even banning all semiautomatc firearms wouldn’t prevent a school shooting by some individual armed with a book bag full of revolvers.

Even if legislation passes to ban certain or all firearms it will not occur in the immediate future. Therefore it is quite possible we will see many more school shooting in the meantime.

So what can we do? Here’s some ideas.

1) Improve the physical security at schools. There are many ways to accomplish this such as limiting access to a few entrances which can be monitored . A more expensive idea is to install metal detectors at such entrances. Require ID badges to open the doors to at these entrances. Improve the doors to classrooms and install bullet proof glass in such doors so a shooter can’t stand outside and fire into the room.

2) Train students and teachers how to react in a school shooting. If a shooter enters the room teach the students throw everything available at him including books, book bags and even desks.It could distract him and has a better chance of saving lives than hiding under desks.

3) Have adequate, well trained, armed security at every school. Every gun free zone that houses large numbers of people should have such security. Many buildings in large cities often have far better security personnel present than most schools. The high school in Florida where the recent tragedy occurred had only one School Resource Officer for 3000 students in several buildings. I don’t feel that was adequate.

4) Imporve our mental healthcare system in this nation so that people with severe mental issues that makes them a danger to others can find treatment.

5) Make sure the authorities take action when some individual is busy waving enormous red flags indicating he is a danger. If that would have happened with the shooter in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland Florida this recent tragedy might have been prevented. All levels of government including the FBI totally dropped the ball by ignoring the numerous warnings about this shooter.

6) Make sure security personnel at a high school know their job is to confront the shooter and that the police who arrive on the scene make entry rather than setting up a perimeter outside while the shooter is in the process of killing innocent people inside the building.

7) After the police enter and clear an area of the building allow EMTs to enter and treat the injured. Minutes count and can save lives.

8) The media should limit naming the shooter as much as possible. Giving him a week of 24/7 publicity can also inspire copycat shooters looking for similar attention. (Notice I avoid naming the recent high school shooter.)

9) Insure our NICS background check system for the legal purchase of firearms is up to date and flags those who have serious mental issues endangering others.

Who knows? Perhaps in several years or a decade or two certain or all firearms may be banned. Perhaps not. However I feel we should take action now to try to deter school shootings as much as possible and in my opinion there is a lot we can do.