There is no way you can bring a firearm into a Gun Free Zone
A gunman shot and killed a prominent Iowa high school football coach in the school’s weight room early Wednesday and was taken into custody shortly afterward, authorities said. The gunman shot Aplington-Parkersburg High School coach Ed Thomas at about 8 a.m. with about 50 students in the school, including several in the weight room at the time. School was not in session, and no one else was injured.
A gunman shot and killed a prominent Iowa high school football coach in the school’s weight room early Wednesday and was taken into custody shortly afterward, authorities said.
The gunman shot Aplington-Parkersburg High School coach Ed Thomas at about 8 a.m. with about 50 students in the school, including several in the weight room at the time. School was not in session, and no one else was injured.
Now, here's a thought experiment – What might have happened if Coach Thomas had a gun? Most probable answer – nothing different. Hard to defend a sucker punch. Having a firearm within reach doesn't emit a force field of safety, very much like a sign that says "No Guns Allowed!" even if the sign is printed in 40 point Helvetica Bold with lots of underlines and a rather stern "This Means YOU" underneath.
No sane person I know (and hell, for the most part, the not-so-sane ones as well) honestly thinks that arming teachers will prevent every last act of violence in our schools. I don't even think it would lower incidents all that much and only change the outcome of a shooting spree. And in this manner, the arguments that armed teachers will stress out, snap, and kill their students lose what little power they have.
This coach was trusted with his students' safety. He could just as easily stab one of them to death with a letter opener as he could shoot one and yet millions of times a day, that simply doesn't happen in schools nationwide. Instead, the violence we hear about come from people who are well aware that they will face no armed opposition and willfully flaunt the laws that supposedly prevent them from doing just that.
It's a shame this coach was murdered. It's also a shame there is a false sense of security generated by rendering the law abiding defenseless while the crazed lunatics and thugs out there follow no such rules when, in fact, it makes things even more dangerous.
Hat tip Gun Pundit