Make school security a priority, not the NRA

This cannot be left unsaid. The St. Mary’s County Maryland Sheriff’s Office’s response program to active shooters at schools and gatherings is an excellent example that governments across the country should follow. Americans must elect political leaders who will put the lives of unarmed Americans first. It’s time to stop killing people like they’re fish in a barrel (“A good guy with a gun may have saved lives in a Md. school — a trained good guy in uniform,” March 20).

It wasn’t an accident that Deputy Blaine Gaskill, who is a SWAT-trained law enforcement officer, was assigned to Great Mills High School as a school resource officer. These resource officers are highly trained police officers who understand the necessity of immediate response rather than awaiting backup from other officers and SWAT. It not only takes tremendous courage to perform these jobs, it takes dedication to the right to life. Ours and theirs!

While politicians delay putting policies in place because of their fear of the NRA, the rest of America needs to understand that implementing these types of protection teams will cost money and demand that their respective governments step up and fund the programs. Even if they have to raise taxes, I call on the Maryland General Assembly to fund Gov. Larry Hogan’s $125 million bill to enhance security at Maryland schools.

More importantly, all Americans should stand up to the politicians who refuse to take action on sensible gun control laws with this message: “Either you take immediate action on gun control or I will vote against you in November and work to defeat all Republicans and Democrats who don’t have as much courage as Deputy Blaine Gaskill.”

For those gun owners who claim that sensible gun laws will take away their gun rights? Don’t be ridiculous. It’s logistically impossible to remove all the guns in the U.S., and no one wants to do that. Accept the fact that the Second Amendment does not give “gun toting” Americans the right to go into our schools or other public gatherings and kill unarmed defenseless Americans en masse. More Americans die because of senseless gun laws than in the wars we fight. Since when have gun owners become so cowardly?