Properly Protecting Schools From Violence

I would like to address something that has been on my heart and mind that is of concern to me. This is the idea of a “gun free zone” with particular attention paid to that of schools in Illinois versus many other states' preparation for violence. I would also like to compare our protection for violence with how we protect against fire in schools.

Lets take a moment and look at how we transport and handle money. Loads of cash and coins are assigned one or more armed guards, and placed into a heavily armored truck. It would be a difficult proposition to try to steal money during that transportation. At stores, restaurants and banks, large amounts of money are typically stored in safes. Many are bulletproof, fireproof and waterproof. At some locations, there are more armed guards protecting the money. It is clear that money is considered valuable.

By contrast, schools are more open to a person of ill intent. Many elementary through high schools are unlocked during the morning and afternoon when children are arriving and leaving. During the day, security involves locked doors, some cameras, and some sort of buzzer system at the main door. Once in, visitors are typically required to 'sign in' with the main office. The schools are also protected by the Gun Free School Zone acts of 1990 and 1994. Very seldom is there anyone inside the school with the added duty of armed security, especially in the great state of Illinois. College universities are the same way, even though some students and teachers are of age and eligible to carry a firearm for self defense outside school.

I could name off dozens or more cases where a determined shooter entered a school and slaughtered victims at his leisure. But I don't need to, we all know the cases that captured the headlines. It is very easy to search them up on the internet, and many more cases are also found that did not make national attention. There are even some attacks where terrorists have targeted children at schools. Make no mistake, evil knows where soft targets are and going after children is a sure way to get at the adults indirectly. There are too many instances to list in which an attacker met little to no resistance in a school and treated it like a shooting gallery. All the laws and policies in the world could not have stopped them. The locked doors are only somewhat affective when locked, and even then can be broken open.

How does this compare with how we handle fire protection in schools? When is the last case of a fire ripping through a school and claiming the lives of multiple innocent children? 1958, Our Lady of the Angels School in Chicago, IL. When was the last case of school violence resulting in young lives lost? 2013, Sparks, Nevada. It would seem that in this time, we have stepped up our protection against fire in schools. Fire drills, flame retardant materials, smoke detectors, fire extinguishers, sprinkler systems; and of course fire departments. In the same time, we have stepped up the perceived protection against violence. We have active shooter drills, locked doors, more laws, and of course police departments. Notice the differences? There is so much in the schools ready to help with fire, yet so little to respond to violence. Armed response must often times be called in from outside to help.

I want to leave you with these thoughts. Think of how much protection we surround our money with. Think of how much we prepare for fires. Compare these to how much protection we surround our children with. Think of this for how much we do not make appropriate preparations for violence. Look into other states arming and training teachers, and consider how you would protect your children from the very real dangers that are out there, including violence. Children must often wait for help to come. Whether we would like to think about it or not, violence is a very real threat to children in schools. We can either bury our heads in the sand and hope that the laws we have will keep the children safe, or we could take simple and smart steps to make sure that they are guarded like the treasure that they are.