“It’s fair criticism to say that some pro-gun advocates are sometimes too ideologically rigid, even about proposals that would not affect defense, hunting, or any other exercise of the right to arms. It’s equally fair to say the same is true sometimes for some anti-gun advocates. Endangering school safety to score a culture war win is an example.”
- Fifty-seven percent of voters believe that preventing “properly trained” armed teachers and staff being allowed to defend schools makes schools more dangerous.
- Colorado’s FASTER program is taught by the same instructors who train the police, and it trains teachers and staff to the same or higher standards as law enforcement officers in subjects involving school defense.
- School Resource Officers are a good idea, and they have sometimes stopped school shootings. At other times, SROs have failed to act while students were being murdered.
- Forcing schools to rely exclusively on SROs jeopardizes the lives of children in school districts that cannot afford an SRO in every building.
- The record shows that armed teachers and staff have thwarted mass shooters in schools.
- The objections to FASTER amount to ideological objections to citizen self-defense in general.
- Although HB24-1310 feeds the culture war appetites of lobbies such as Giffords, which has stated that it wants to eliminate gun ownership, the culture war pandering directly endangers the lives of students and adults at schools.
By David Kopel
