(CBS) – In its first public statement since the massacre at a Connecticut elementary school last week, the National Rifle Association called on Congress to “act immediately” to put armed police officers in every school in America.
“The only thing that can stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun,” said Wayne LaPierre, the NRA’s CEO and executive vice president.
“We care about our president, so we protect him with armed Secret Service agents. Members of Congress work in offices surrounded by Capitol Police officers,” said LaPierre. “Yet, when it comes to our most beloved, innocent, and vulnerable members of the American family, our children, we as a society leave them every day utterly defenseless, and the monsters and the predators of the world know it, and exploit it.”
In the week since 20 children and six teachers were gunned down at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., the national dialogue has turned to guns and gun control. On Dec. 19, President Obama announced the formation of a task force on gun safety. The NRA press conference came after a period of relative silence from the organization, which announced in a statement on Dec. 18 that, in the wake of Newtown, it would announce “meaningful contributions” to the debate on Friday.
LaPierre, who did not take questions, discussed a decline in gun prosecutions, the impact of violent video games and movies like “American Psycho” and “Natural Born Killers,” (which he said were “aired like propaganda loops on Splatterdays and every single day”). He also spoke of the nation’s “refusal to create an active national database of the mentally ill.”
Two protesters interrupted Friday’s presentation, one carrying a sign reading “NRA Killing our Kids” and another with a sign reading “NRA Blood on Your Hands.”
At the end of his speech, LaPierre introduced former Rep. Asa Hutchinson (R-Ark) who he said had been appointed the national director of the NRA’s new National Model School Shield Program.
“The NRA is [going to] bring all its knowledge, all its dedication and all its resources to develop a model national schools shield emergency response program for every single school in America that wants it,” said LaPierre.
“From armed security to building design and access control, to information technology, to student and teacher training, this multifaceted program will be developed by the very best experts in the field.”
Cops in schools already has a federal funded grant program set up under Clinton.
COPS in Schools (CIS)
The COPS in Schools (CIS) grant program is designed to help law enforcement agencies hire new, additional school resource officers (SROs) to engage in community policing in and around primary and secondary schools. CIS provides an incentive for law enforcement agencies to build collaborative partnerships with the school community and to use community policing efforts to combat school violence.
The COPS in Schools program provides a maximum federal contribution up of to $125,000 per officer position for approved salary and benefit costs over the 3-year grant period, with any remaining costs to be paid with local funds. Officers paid with CIS funding must be hired on or after the grant award start date. All jurisdictions that apply must also demonstrate that they have primary law enforcement authority over the school(s) identified in their application, and also demonstrate their inability to implement this project without federal assistance. Funding will begin when the new officers are hired on or after the grant award date, and will be paid over the course of the 3-year grant period.
http://www.cops.usdoj.gov/default.asp?Item=54
Flashback: Clinton Requests $60 Million to Put Cops in Schools
In their zeal to rampage this left-wing agenda, the media has apparently forgotten that back in 2000, on the one-year anniversary of the Columbine shooting (which occurred with an assault weapons ban in place), President Clinton requested $60 million in federal money to fund a fifth round of funding for a program called “COPS in School,” a program that does exactly what the NRA is proposing and the media is currently in overdrive mocking:
Clinton also unveiled the $60-million fifth round of funding for “COPS in School,” a Justice Department program that helps pay the costs of placing police officers in schools to help make them safer for students and teachers. The money will be used to provide 452 officers in schools in more than 220 communities.
“Already, it has placed 2,200 officers in more than 1,000 communities across our nation, where they are heightening school safety as well as coaching sports and acting as mentors and mediators for kids in need,” Clinton said.
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Journalism/2012/12/21/Flashback-Clinton-Cops-in-Schools
Wayne is an idiot … and yet … lives in that bubble occupied by the 98th percentile. It must be punctured.
Peggy this cops program gives me an idea. I think it’s unnecessary to hire police for 99.9% of the schools in America, because 99.9% didn’t have a school shooting. But, what about a program that makes for transition from law enforcement to teaching a good fit? As you know law enforcement officers retire early (50-55) and they often seek a new career. What’s wrong with hiring retired cops to teach at a school and then kept them current on their firearms training. The schools get a good teacher and better security and the cops get to continue being of service to their community. Cops have a terrific background that would really help in teaching and counseling they sure know how to control a classroom. I think it would be a great fit and it doesn’t add one nickle to the budget cost!!!!
PS Large schools could justify hiring an on campus officer for all kinds of criminal conduct, but even a small school could have a retired cop/teacher.
Wayne is an idiot?
Why do you say that Libby, do you disagree with: (1) Banks have a security guard, why not schools? (2) “the only thing that can stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.” (3)
I believe in the 2nd Amendment. (4) Defenseless schools are an open invitation for madmen to inflict maximum damage on a large group of people.
These were the points Wayne made at his news conference. Which [stupid] comment from Wayne do you disagree with?
Right now people are blaming the NRA like they shot those kids – that’s idiotic.
Demonstrators tried to interrupt Wayne and showed no respect for his right to free speech. They shouted, “NRA you have blood on your hands!” and “NRA, you’re killers!” That’s really idiotic.
Libs maybe you have your idiots mixed up? Did this help?
Who’s the idiot, please read through the link and let’s look at our own idiotic Government in Washington DC first. STOP pointing a popular finger in the wrong direction. At least the NRA has a plan and people willing to work to make schools safe!
http://www.washingtonguardian.com/washingtons-school-security-failure
Harold I think that’s the exact problem. The left does not have a solution other than to write another law to punish law abiding gun owners and further erode the Constitution. I have a feeling they choose the solutions they do because it feels good and involves no risk or personal involvement. They get lots of points for passing laws that do absolutely nothing to solve problems and they are off the hook in terms of responsibility. Meanwhile they spend lots of time congratulating themselves and feeling superior.
Jack retired cops becoming teachers is a superior idea!
I’d be supportive of ex-military doing the same thing and I understand a few have chosen to do just that. Our schools could use some disciplined teachers familiar with handling attitude cases, especially at the jr high and high school level.
I also think this is a perfect example for action at the local level rather than another federal program. Is there any evidence that the COPS program instituted under Clinton has made a difference in crime or in our schools?
Slate had this to say when the COPS program was revisited in 2009:
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2001/11/invisible_cops.html
Local governments got some federal dollars, Clinton got credit and votes and once again it was mostly a gesture at best….a very expensive gesture.
I wouldn’t mind having an officer at each school site. As Peggy mentioned, a School Resource Officer (SRO) program has been an option for school districts. Chico has/had (not sure program is still in place) an SRO program. However, an SRO program is far different than that proposed by the NRA. SRO’s spend most of their time at the High School and Jr. High School sites. Their duty is to make positive contact with troubled students and families and provide some security.
There are about 100,000 public schools in the United States. If we were to provide a security/police officer, as the NRA suggests, at every school site the cost would be at the very least $3 billion/year (100K officers @ $30K/year). It’s a start, but what else can we do to lower the rate of homicides due to guns?
Michael, you ask a good question, and possibly there is no good answer, certainly not a perfect answer. However, lets at least talk about it. First, consider that we have well over 300,000,000 guns in America, that’s about 88 guns for every 100 people. We can’t remove guns from this society… heck, we can’t even remove a few illegal aliens. But, there is a viable alternative to taking away things and still protect our schools better than they are now. Here’s how: We can prepare those soon to be retiring police officers to teach in our schools and let them stay armed. This is so simple and effective, it’s a great way to help secure schools! We have roughly 500,000 police officers that could eventually go into teaching.
When officers retire at age 50-55 let them transition into teaching, if they wish. Same goes for retirees from our Rangers, Special Forces and Seals. They could all transition into teaching, if we gave them a decent opportunity. And these folks have invaluable, real world experience to share with our young people taht goes far beyond being a good shot in a crisis. They are smart, skilled, and proven courageous. They exemplify what is good and decent about us as a society. They would help renew that sense of pride and patriotism that has been slipping away in this country for years. These people would make SUPER-teachers.
Bet, check this out…this would cost us taxpayers almost zero. In 10-15 years these teacher/officers could retire again at a reduced retirement and that saves us taxpayers on teacher retirement payouts.
It’s a win-win, that is…if you agree that we need to protect our kids as much as we protect our banks?
Jack, there are multiple good ways to address getting security in to our schools. When my son was a high school English teacher, a dean, a vice principle and a principle in schools from San Jose, to Morgan Hill, Paradise and Magalia they all had Resource Officer/s on duty. (The high school in Morgan Hill (Live Oak) has been in the news several times the past couple of years and had a student body of around a thousand students, with major gang problems.)
CA community college districts, CSUs and UC campuses already have police dept staffed 24/7/365 so steps have been taken to secure those students safety, while not perfect it does exist. It’s our youngest and most vulnerable children in elementary and high schools who need our protection too and now.
I like the existing federal Clinton era COPS program because it funds for placing a trained police officer at the schools for three years. Since it’s already in place one just needs a grant writer to submit the grant and hire someone. The three years of funding provides the school districts time to set up a budget to continue the cost for the fourth year and beyond. This could be done now with no delays.
I like your idea of hiring retired police officers. Under their PERS retirement they can work 1,000 hours per year in a public school without loosing their benefits. Plus, they probably have benefits already so the benefit cost would not be necessary and would be a savings to the district’s budget. Two or more officers could be hired to cover the school hours and all of the after school activities to keep the hours down below the PERS limitation requirements.
Another thought is to utilize the students going through the police academies like the one out at Butte college. The cadet/students could be required to do an internship for a semester as a part of their degree requirement similar to teachers doing their credentials program requirement for their teaching degree. There would be little to no cost to the schools since it would be a community or CSU degree requirement, but could take several years to establish and to get state Ed Code program approval. In addition to the police academies located throughout the state several community colleges also have Correction Officer’s training programs, which could be utilized too.
I also like the idea of hiring our vets who have come home from serving over seas, have gun training and experience and can’t find jobs. I’d want some screening though to make sure soldiers with PTSD are not eligible.
The one that really jumps out at me is the Texas school district model. I like the way it’s set up. Teachers, staff and administrators who want to carry a concealed weapon must first apply with the school board, upon approval they go through the training and receive final approval from the school board prior to being allowed to carry the gun while working. Their identity is kept secret except for the principle and the school board so no students or other staff know who is armed or not. The gun is always on them. And it could be the janitor with his mop bucket or the secretary. No one knows. Schools from all over the US are contacting the school for information.
There are probably more, but these are just a couple I can think of off the top of my head. All have merit to some degree, because our world has changed past the point that something has to be done. Whether it’s one of the above or a combination something needs to be done tomorrow at the latest with flexibility to change and make improvements in the future. Also what works in a country school of a couple of hundred students or less isn’t going to work the same at a mega inner city school with 500 to a thousand students.
If a simple sign saying, “This is NOT a gun free zone. Armed officer on duty.” Or as we’ve seen pictures of parents in their military uniforms volunteering to stand guard at their child’s school can help stop these crazies from killing another child I’m all for it.
Providing the funds for the above options that have a cost factor can be addressed also in a couple of ways. There is currently a tax for cigarettes, and alcohol to fund the health issues related to them and it’s paid by only those who purchase these products. I have no problem with a similar tax for gun sales at state and local level purchases to help fund the cost. I also have no problem voting for a school bond that would support hiring safety personnel. But, I want guarantees that the monies are used only for their salaries and benefits. No doing the usual bait and switch to pay for “pet” projects.
Jack, your idea of retired police officers becoming teachers has a major problem. A BA is required plus a year in a credentials program. If the cop has a BA degree already only his/her GE courses would be used for the teaching degree. All or most of the courses in the major would need to be taken which would take at least a couple of years, plus the additional year for the credential.
I’m not saying it’s not a good idea I’m saying how feasible is it for a someone at retirement age to spend years in school to earn a teaching degree and how long would they stay.
Peggy, I’m sure glad you brought this point up because it gives me an opportunity to expand on this.
Police officers generally have a B.A. degree, it’s a virtual requirement to get promoted and almost all have at least an AA degree, which is needed to be hired.
This is all good for transitioning to teaching, but there is also a program in place for decades that allows police officers to teach using a Standard Designated Subjects teaching credential grades 9-16. This is a provisional license that must be renewed, I believe every 4 years.
In order to obtain an SDS credential a police officer is required to complete several of primary college courses that are required for regular credentialed teachers. For a police officer to transition into a teacher is easy. Ironically, this plays right into what is needed today. It’s an incredibly easy and low cost way to provide additional security and fill a need for good teachers.
This can work. It’s a fix that is right now and it can be done for almost no additional cost. This is an idea that absolutely must go forward or we are missing a wonderful opportunity. I’m going to propose this to Congressman Doug LaMalfa.
Jack,
I like the idea of retired officers volunteering to watch over our schools. If you’re proposing that these retired officers teach too or are mandated to guard for free, well that’s a whole different ballgame.
Many teachers, myself included, served in our armed forces and we are extremely dedicated to the safety and education of our children. However, Peggy is right, having served in the military or as a police officer does not qualify one to become a highly qualified teacher under federal and state standards. To become a good teacher it takes years of training and a whole lot of money. I clearly understand that we cannot stop the crazies from mass killings. But I believe we can lower the rate of these tragedies through laws that protect the most innocent and help those of us that are not able to get the mental help we need.
Here’s what I honestly believe:
I would never propose the banning of a gun that is intended for hunting or practical security. But, as a former member of the military, a teacher, hunter and former NRA member I believe that the weapons that are being used in these horrific crimes have no place in our society. I believe in the 2nd amendment, however it was written during a time when single shot weapons were used. Today, one can too easily purchase a weapon that can fire many rounds per second. These are not weapons for hunting or practical security; these are weapons of mass murder. It’s time to put some teeth into laws that will help prevent tragedies like that at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Either we can stand by and do nothing ensuring that more people die or we can write legislation that will hopefully lower the frequency and number of people killed in these God awful massacres.
Jack maybe you could tell us what more the gun law advocates want. Current law seems to be adequate from my limited knowledge perspective. A quick overview of federal gun laws can be found at the following link that include:
http://www.justice.gov/usao/ut/psn/documents/guncard.pdf
Gun laws by state here:
http://www.gunlawsbystate.com/blog/
The use of the words “assault weapon” can be very confusing for many of us and I fear we are being tricked once again by anti-gun political zealots who want us to believe we don’t have laws against such weapons.
That’s great Jack, I wasn’t aware of this program. One of my duties at the community college was to submit all program certificate and degree approvals to the state for approval. I know individuals in the trades can teach with state approval based on years of experience in their trade field, but was not aware it also reached up into the BA degree level.
You’re right if the cop already has a BA degree in Law Enforcement there would be limited course work required if any. But for those who only have an AA degree I do believe they would and should be required to obtain the BA degree level and credential certificate.
Good idea to present it to Doug. Let me know if I can help.
Michael, you and I are on the same page.
I own a 9mm Glock and a Remington 22. Both have high capacity clips that were legal when I got them.
I’d gladly give up the clips and go with the lower capacity ones as long as I can keep the guns and buy additional clips. I don’t need 17 bullets in a clip to stop a burglar from breaking into my home, but believe everyone has the right to have what they may/will need to protect their life and property.
Michael, thank you for your wise words of caution. As a former teacher and police officer I can I appreciate where you’re coming from and at the same time see the great potential here.
You’re right, to be a really competent teacher requires years of experience plus education, just like any other professional career. But, education and passing the CBEST doesn’t guarantee one will be a good teacher, as you know. Teaching is an art and to be a great educator requires something colleges can’t teach.
The idea of very professional, highly trained law enforcement personnel going into academia would hardly lower the bar. Any experienced cop already has a lot of the skills needed to be good teachers, long before they even begin the teachers training program.
A law enforcement officer, especially in California, must pass a wide variety of aptitude tests that scores him/her well above the average person in terms of judgement, psychological wellness, intelligence and yes…education. That’s a huge start that entry into a teachers program at any major university doesn’t even have. So we start with the best of society…then we prepare and educate as may be needed for specialized classroom subjects and a limited credential.
A police officer with a bachelors degree, coupled with a reasonable teacher preparatory course would make that officer very qualified to teach single subjects within his field of expertise. Expertise that is developed through experience, as well as education.
If the officer wishes to expand on that entry level license, additional training to teach multiple subjects is the next higher step. This would be full, unrestricted credentialing. He or she would have to pass the CBEST just like you.
The concept of a teacher/officer would be particularly well suited for jr. high, high school and college classes.
An entry level S.D.S. credentialed teacher/officer would be required to carry a concealed firearm, but compensated for maintaining his firearms proficiency and legal requirements. The S.D.S. cred. only pay scale would be less than a fully qualified and licensed multi-subject teacher. They would also not be eligible for tenure, unless they meet the higher level of credentialing.
Nobody is suggesting that because someone was a good cop they can suddenly be a good teacher! But, professional people with the right background and a little extra education to help with the transition and to insure quality as educators, well, we’ve got a winning program here!
Let me make this really clear: Nobody is suggesting that these be hired guns in uniform. To be most effective they shouldn’t stand out. They work like an air marshal only in a school setting. The objective is to blend in without disrupting the classroom and yet provide an extra level of security. But, the effect on the public would be, that teacher you see could be armed. Therefore, any attempt to harm school children could be met with a lethal response! Schools are not easy targets anymore for killers to pedophiles. This could well end the attacks on schools, while helping to curb school violence and help on a whole host of other things. When you never where the cop is, but you know they are around, people behave better.
This concept might make some teachers feel uneasy, but that’s their problem. If they do feel THAT uneasy maybe we should take a look why? Could be, they’re doing something wrong in the classroom.
Thanks Peggy….right now I’m working out the details. I need folks like you and Michael to raise the questions so I answer them and get this down to something very workable.