Wayne L
aPierre, that angry-man-with-a-gun (I hope he’s been background checked) is sure that an armed guard at school is just the thing to keep our babies safe safe safe.
Ahem. Columbine had an armed security guard. He exchanged gunfire with the killers. When Sheriff’s deputies arrived, more gunfire was exchanged – and the killing continued. Eventually a SWAT team arrived – and the killing continued.
The six deputies were on the scene within five minutes, the SWAT team within seven minutes. On many high school campuses, it could take a security guard minutes, not seconds, to reach (to locate?) a problem area.
The excruciating details of the Columbine response are here.
You can have wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, or democracy. But you cannot have both.
Whatever Works 
Armed guards in all the schools? Armed guards get shot in banks, and at other places. Time for LaPierre to check himself into the closest hospital and put on meds.
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If we restrict the President’s appearances to Gun Free Zones we can abolish the Secret Service. Make banks Gun Free Zones and we can save the expense of guards. How do I make my house a Gun Free Zone?
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That was the weakest argument indeed – it suggested choosing a ‘gun free’ school over another place is a rational decision – after he said these guys are madmen. Such a bizarre presentation.
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Armed guards would be better than no guards but it’s not a cure-all or any form of guarantee. Nothing is.
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Of course not . . . we can’t stop shit, but we mitigate the danger and extent of damage.
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Within the context of random spree killings, there’s actually very little that we can do to mitigate or limit the danger, which is actually slight, and the damage, which is horrific no matter how you look at it.
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Interesting details on Columbine, Moe – thanks. These few facts prompt me to speculate that the security guard and the first responders would all have been more effective had the shooters been less well armed. Their guns included two sawed-off shotguns and a TEC DC9 semi-automatic handgun. But the strongest fact that leaps out at me is that the perps had the full advantage of prior planning and surprise. That, I think, is the essential element to keep in mind as this topic is debated.
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Jim, JR put up some vids in the comment thread on the last post that prove that exact point of prior planning vs surprise.
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