The North Carolina General Assembly's Joint Committee on Emergency Management Oversight will be meeting on Thursday, March 15th, to discuss school security issues. It is essential that they hear from those of us who have real and actionable suggestions and not merely those with ineffective, looks good on paper, feel good schemes.
I sent my message to the Republicans on the committee and I hope you will as well.
From GRNC:
HELP DEVELOP NC's
SCHOOL SAFETY PLAN
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Thursday, state legislators are hearing arguments that will inform life-and-death decisions regarding school security. Please be there …
This Meeting Needs Your Voice
At the state legislature, there are two committee meetings in March which revolve around school security. The first is this Thursday (March 15), the Joint Committee on Emergency Management Oversight. There will likely be opportunities for public comments, and it is critical that this not be a one-sided discussion. We all know that the anti-gun-rights crowd will have people there to demand policies that will only make things worse. Due to the deadly serious nature of this topic, ineffective, feel-good schemes cannot be allowed to take hold. Please make every effort to attend these meetings. Below, find details on the upcoming meetings.
Gun-free Zones: the Psychotic-Killer Loophole
The most effective way to reduce mass public shootings is for our elected officials to wise up and eliminate dangerous gun-free zones (GFZs). Documented evidence tells us that criminals and psychotics carefully choose GFZs to commit their heinous acts, because they know they will not be met with timely armed resistance.
All but two of U.S. mass shootings since 1950
have occurred in so-called
“gun-free” zones.
That’s 98%!
Along with improved security provisions, such as fewer unlocked entrances and generally beefed up security, the most effective way to protect school children is to proclaim that any attack will likely be met with rapid armed resistance from an unpredictable source; that source would be teachers and other school personnel.
Remove the Shackles
Of course, teachers who do not want to carry defensive weapons should not be required to. However, the shackles must be removed from those willing to mount effective resistance if the worst should occur. Some seem very concerned about teachers using weapons during a dire emergency. But consider the alterative: bullets flying in only one direction and resulting in the deaths of many innocent and helpless people. Any objection to evening those odds seems entirely unreasonable. Let’s demand that legislators close the psychotic-killer loophole!
IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED!
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- EMAIL THE REPUBLICAN COMMITTEE MEMBERS: CLICK HERE to generate an email message. After you click, check your email program. An email should have been generated for you. Simply add you name to the bottom and hit ‘send.’
If an email was not generated automatically, or wasn’t generated properly, send the email using the copy/paste email list and the copy/paste text provided below, under ‘Deliver This Message.’
- ATTEND THE JOINT COMMITTEE MEETING: It’s critical that the public be involved in these meetings, especially because it’s the safety of the citizenry’s own children that is being debated. Practical and effective solutions from concerned citizens like you must be discussed, and ought to dominate the conversation. But without you there to speak, or at least to support the speakers by your presence, that may not happen. Please attend. Find the meeting details below.
- SAVE THE DATE TO ATTEND A SECOND COMMITTEE MEETING: The ‘House Select Committee on School Safety’ will be meeting on Wednesday, March 21, at 9:00 AM to discuss the same issues. Please mark your calendar and watch for an upcoming GRNC reminder about that meeting. This meeting will also be in the Legislative Office Building, Rm. 643. Please plan to attend.
MEETING DETAILS:
| WHAT: | Joint Committee on Emergency Management Oversight Meeting |
| WHEN: | Thursday, March 15, 9:00 AM (arrive an hour early if possible) |
| WHERE: |
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| NOTES: | Dress for the press. Please dress professionally with no inflammatory slogans or the like on clothing. |
| | Arrive early. To deal with any parking issues, and to make sure you get a seat. Arriving at least one hour early is recommended. |
Copy/Paste email List:
John.Faircloth@ncleg.net; Ron.Rabin@ncleg.net; Jamie.Boles@ncleg.net; Brenden.Jones@ncleg.net; Michael.Speciale@ncleg.net; John.Alexander@ncleg.net; Danny.Britt@ncleg.net; Norman.Sanderson@ncleg.net; Jeff.Tarte@ncleg.net; Mike.Clampitt@ncleg.net; Larry.Pittman@ncleg.net; Jason.Saine@ncleg.net; Jerry.Tillman@ncleg.net
Suggested Subject:
"For School Safety: End Gun-Free Zones"
Dear Committee Member:
I am writing today in reference to your service on the Joint Committee on Emergency Management Oversight.
Since the recent disturbing events in Florida, all the usual gun-control voices have called for all the usual ineffective and unconstitutional schemes. None of these useless and ominous notions are acceptable, and I insist that you not lend them credence during your upcoming committee meetings. I do expect you to discuss school security concepts that are actually effective and will truly result in the protection of school children.
Removing the shackles from school employees who have concealed handgun permits would be the simplest and most effective solution. The legislature could do this almost immediately by removing the dangerous gun-free zone (GFZ) status from school buildings and grounds. Teachers and other school staff are no danger to students. If they were, we wouldn’t allow them unfettered, daily access to our children. Yet, the threat of swift armed resistance from an unpredictable source is a highly effective deterrent. This is why a full 98% of all mass public shooting since 1950 have occurred in so-called “gun-free” zones. Should the worst occur, teachers defending their students with deadly force is not such a terrible thing when you imagine the alternative. Indeed, no imagination is necessary, as recent events have shown us exactly what the alternative looks like.
A large number of teachers are already willing and ready for classroom carry. A recent Elon University Poll of North Carolina teachers (which skewed heavily Democrat) revealed that roughly 20% of teachers are open to the idea of concealed handguns in the classroom. Consider that the number of every day citizens who legally carry a gun in our state is something less than 10%. This means the number of teachers willing to consider classroom carry is at least twice the number in the general population who already carry a handgun. This is great news, and further evidence that dangerous GFZs have run their course.
Our children’s very lives are at stake. I demand that your time on the School Safety committee be used to consider and implement only practical and effective policies. I will be monitoring your actions on this matter through Grass Roots North Carolina legislative alerts.
Respectfully,
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