Op Ed Commentary: Let’s arm teachers

By Frederick Su

How many more students have to die at the hands of a crazed murderer, as has just happened in Broward County, FL, before society lets teachers and administrators carry guns? Police cannot be everywhere, and they take minutes to arrive. The gunman took 3 minutes to slaughter 17 people and wound 15.

Since the May 15, 1974, attack in Maalot, Israel, where 25 people died and 66 were wounded on a school outing because of 3 PLO gunmen, the Israeli government loosened restrictions on guns. Many teachers armed themselves. Further attacks were stopped.

Wayne LaPierre, executive vice president of the NRA, said after the horror of Sandy Hook in Connecticut in 2012, “The only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.” Oh, yeah, you say? Well, cops are good guys with guns, aren’t they? And teachers with guns would be too.

Much of this tragedy could have been avoided right after Columbine (1999), and even Sandy Hook, by proactively arming teachers and administrators. Yet, the Left’s collective power to stick their heads in the sand like ostriches and hope that tragedy will not strike again is not good for the collective soul of America.

The Left’s typical clamor to take away our guns, a right guaranteed by the 2nd Amendment, belies reality. Confiscation would require the total subjugation and/or elimination of current gun owners, numbering about 100 million. Think what that means.

Liberals blame the gun. But, no, it is not the gun. It is only an inanimate object, to be used for good or evil, depending on the individual’s character. In Utah in the 1960s, hunting deer, I’d occasionally hear the staccato of semi-automatic rifles. There were very few mass murders then. What changed? The culture. Today, there are infantile young men who blame everybody else for their stilted egos. They cannot endure the small vicissitudes of life and instead vent their anger on innocent victims. To counter these wannabe murderers, we need members of the majority, especially parents, to stand up and say, “Enough! Let’s arm teachers!”

Volunteer teachers and staff would get the necessary training to carry a weapon. Schools would work with police on procedures. For added safety, to negate accidental discharges, I suggest semi-automatic pistols, such as a .380 or 9 mm. These can be safely carried with no round in the chamber, making them inert. Racking the slide would make them operational. There are pistols designed for women with easily rackable slides.

To those parents who fear guns, I say this: In the hands of good people, it is protection against madmen. Don’t believe this madness cannot happen again. The Left wants more gun control, but that will not protect your children. Instead, give teachers and staff the means to fight back for themselves and the children—because seconds count. When all else fails, they would be the last line of defense. Armed opposition to madmen will enhance your child’s survival. Open your eyes and see that good people with guns can win this fight. The status quo is certainly not working.

So, America, which path are we going to take? Shall we continue sticking our heads in the sand and let the slaughter continue? Or shall we take the simple straightforward path, using a Constitutional solution, by allowing teachers to carry weapons? Or will the Left lead us down a convoluted, tyrannical path, by attempting to confiscate weapons from law-abiding citizens, thus catapulting us toward another civil war?

Let us wisely choose the Constitutional path.

Frederick Su is a life member of the NRA. Because of his race, he was bullied as a freshman in a Nevada high school in 1961-62. He quickly realized he was his own (unarmed) first responder. From that experience, he knows that defense starts with self.

An edited version of his Op Ed commentary was originally published Feb. 28, 2018 in Northwest Asian Weekly, Seattle, WA.