WhatFinger


A Workable Solution: Safety and Security is a matter of keeping dangerous people out of a sensitive area

The Connecticut School Shooting and other acts of Gun Violence



We saw and heard ad infinitum the story about the Connecticut school shooting from the Media. Rush Limbaugh, however, stated on his radio program that every one of those stories during the first three days proved to be untrue.
A combination of reporters taking a bit of information and enlarging on it according to the imagination of the particular reporter/journalist and a hungry desire to be a Walter Cronkite or Eric Sevareid and be placed in the history book of journalism as the person who got there first with the goods. The same thing occurred with the SEALS who gave their lives at Benghazi, the same ones who ignored the “stand down” order and saved 31 souls. There were vehement comments in blogs about them in the blogs but most were laced with imperfect information and rank opinion. I must note here that all that opinion proved to not disobey the facts, however, and spoke to the training and devotion of the Navy SEALS to expected patriotic duty.

Support Canada Free Press


Enough time has passed now that much of what is known is factual. There are questions about the safety and security of the people at Benghazi that remain unanswered, however, especially as regards the apparent total disregard for the cries for help from the Ambassador and other personnel at Ben Ghazi AND why the more prominent Washington figures insisted for weeks that the responsibility rested with the badly-conceived production of a video about Islam. Also, as we know now, there was a change to the report about what happened at that time in that there was some insistence that it was not an act of terror but, instead, as repeatedly said by some of those same Washington people, that it was a spontaneous result of area citizens while the weapons used were not the kinds of weapons that local citizens would take to such a “spontaneous” action. However, the weapons used were the kind that any self-respecting terrorist would love to have along with them if they wanted to do what was done at Benghazi. Now back to the Connecticut school shooting but connecting it to the highly desired safety and security that many parents and journalists are starting to point to when discussing it. IF there were more concern about Safety and Security instead of promoting the restriction of guns, there would be more resultant safety and security as a result and this we will see below. We have the best example of safety and security all around America and bases overseas by the military. First, they have perimeter or encircling fences. Not a simple five or six foot fence but one that is 10 feet or so high. On the top of that fence is either a V-shaped arrangement of barbed wire or concertina wire which is laced with razor-sharp elements that are more secure since barbed wire can be easily cut with metal cutters. This is just the first requirement, however. Another element of military and government safety and security are to have an adequate team of armed guards. They are experts in their field and in some cases are military infantrymen. This team comes complete with pistols at their side and, in some cases, with infantry-type rifles where military guards are concerned. Such a fence around a school would be a new idea to many people. However, I’ve seen fences around High Schools but they are merely five or six feet tall and many high school students are well able to get over such a fence with little effort. It seems to me that they are keep out dogs more than for the protection of students but I’m sure it keeps students from harboring the idea that the fence is not a barrier but rather a demarcation of school property limits. So if the fence were ten feet high, topped by a barbed wire/concertina wire guarantee of no entry, it would be much more safe and secure. I’m sure that some parents would immediately think such a fence would be like a prison for their little darling/s and voice some opposition to it. However, if the safety and security of their child/children is of first priority, a simple explanation to them by the parents, promoted by school authorities, should change their minds, especially after a reminder to them by school officials. Now, the guards would be armed. They need not be belt mounted but could be completely out of sight such as by using a shoulder-mounted holster as used by such heroes as James Bond. Such a weapon is not obvious but is relatively easy to access by the guard. It would eliminate the guards from constantly hitching their pistols to where they want by the guards, much as policemen do to both make sure the gun is there and to intimidate the suspected “perp.” But a possible shooter like in Connecticut would know that the guards are armed and have second thoughts about risking having his weapon found by searching a Men in Black coat for a rifle or a backpack or gym bag to see if there is a gun lurking in there. The safety and security is then pretty much complete at the schools the same as it is at a government base or some area where limited access is of primary concern. Another consideration is that the possible shooter would realize that if he did succeed it getting in such a protected place and it went foul, the guards would immediately shut gates and be on the way to find the mental case. But the mental case is wise enough to weigh the success with the failure of such a mad mission. Therefore, the fence would also be a deterrent in the final decision for where to carry out his/her mischief because he/she would immediately realize that if he/she got in and the intention went foul, the fence would make it equally difficult to escape. Don’t for a minute think that those crazies don’t consider the pros and cons of a target. In the theatre shooting, the chosen theater was the only one out of many that had signs that said that it was a gun free establishment, no firearms allowed. The lunatics are not brain dead, they are mental cases with parts of their thinking abnormal but they still know to get dressed and drive and most-often appear as normal as the average person. Otherwise, they would be found much more quickly. The cost is a big consideration for Americans. How can you weigh the cost of a fence and a couple of guards against the possibility of 30 people, including children, dying at the hand of a mental case? Keep in mind also that the idea of taking everyone’s gun/s away is unworkable since there are gun owner who would shoot their own cousin if such an attempt were contemplated. I have friends that I have known for over 40 years that now carry legally-permitted concealed weapons. Other than one pulling his out to show me in his private office and by their own admission that they “carry,” I would never know they had those guns. I know they are not eager to shoot anyone. But the Liberals, the ones who want to confiscate and limit gun sales and ownership are not gun people. Even those who talk about “automatic assault weapons” would fail a simple five or 10 question exam on gun knowledge. But this is what the Media is talking about: Confiscation of guns and assault weapon sales. Still, though, the old axiom applies: When guns are taken away from legal gun owners, criminals will still have guns. Safety and security of our children is uppermost in the minds of parents and of those who fear the repetition of what happened at the school in Connecticut. However, for many the sympathy and emotion of children dying along with innocent, heroic adults has been transmuted to other, relatively unrelated concerns. Sure, in their minds IF there were no guns, there would be no killing. Under serious analysis, this is not the case with those who kill with knives and even with cars when a particular person is targeted. What do all these kinds of killings have in common? They are committed by people and the weapon is merely the chosen tool. In other words, if someone wanted to see another person die, a gun is not the one, necessary to see this happen. Therefore, more importance needs to be put on the person and not the weapon of choice. Insanity testing is not a workable solution if it were to be applied to everyone. Mental health professionals will tell you that a person may have a problem in one area of their lives and appear perfectly normal it other aspects of their lives. Safety and Security is a matter of keeping dangerous people out of a sensitive area. This applies to schools as well as government establishments.


View Comments

Bob Lunsford -- Bio and Archives

Mr. Lunsford is a retired DoD telecommunications engineer, linguist and world traveler now living in eastern Kentucky. Still active in radio communications, he has several books copyrighted, one of which is now in final process of publication. He is politically motivated and, as much as possible, politically active.


Sponsored