These aren’t toy guns we’re talking about
When I was 7 or 8, my friends I grew up and I went through the first of our gun phases. We all wanted BB guns, as did many of kids our age across the rural South in the mid- to late-1960s.
When we got a little older, we moved on to pump pellet guns, then .22-caliber rifles, shotguns and the like.
Those who were from hunting families moved along further and faster than those of us who liked to hunt but didn’t have a passion for it.
We also had fake tommy guns and other look-alike weapons with which we played army, cops and robbers and even cowboys and Indians.
Yes, the times were simpler and more innocent but for a generation or more, the phases were a rite of passage, part of growing up.
Some Mississippi legislators apparently haven’t outgrown that childhood sense of guns. Unfortunately, they continue to play with them recklessly.
This week was no exception.
The Senate Judiciary A Committee rightfully amended the ill-founded HB 1083 to remove provisions that would have made it easier for some to carry guns in football stadiums and other sporting events on our college and junior college campuses.
But before we could breathe a sigh of relief, the committee tacked on a provision that would allow local school districts to establish policies for teachers, administrators and staff to be armed at school.
The only saving graces is staff would have to get 12 hours of training every two years and have their conceal carry permit. Furthermore, school districts would have the option and would decide how the policies are implemented.
But the fact we even have gotten to this point is scary.
It’s another knee-jerk reaction by legislators trying to score political points on the backs of yet-another serious national tragedy.
When I was 7 and wanted a BB gun, my father didn’t run out that afternoon and get one. Lots of discussion and study went into it.
I don’t get the sense our lawmakers have been nearly as judicious. The best I can tell, we haven’t had hearings with input from security experts, educators, or parents.
From the sounds of it, I’m not sure some of these legislators ever have been in a school or know how they operate or are designed.
Most schools are spread out. So if a gunman were to come in the front door, teachers and classrooms usually are off in a distance.
Even if a school had two or three armed teachers, it’s unlikely they might be the first confronted by the intruder. And their first responsibility is to their children, not to become a security officer or Army Ranger.
And while some office staff or principals might feel comfortable with a gun, it’s uncertain whether they could react quickly enough to make a difference, particularly if it’s their handgun versus a shooter’s AR-15.
Those reasons alone make the idea questionable. But those aren’t he only areas where lawmakers are failing their constituents in favor of their own self-serving politics.
The training is not terribly expensive, but legislators haven’t offered any extra money to cover those costs. Similarly, when security experts have suggested continued improvements to door-locking systems and video surveillance would be better ways to increase security, state lawmakers haven’t chimed in with increased funding.
Ditto for more trained school resource officers or more counselors and mental health services to help identify and treat problems well in advance.
Instead of seeking real, comprehensive solutions that benefit education, learning and teachers, our legislators turn back into little boys who can’t get away from their guns. Unfortunately, these are lives, real lives, with which they are playing, not some imaginary army with toy guns.
Steve Rogers is the news reporter for the Daily Times Leader. The views expressed in this column are his and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Daily Times Leader or its staff.