Arming teachers is appalling suggestion

As a past president of the Florida Bar, and having served for 18 years on the Criminal Justice Commission of Palm Beach County, I am personally shocked and dismayed at the suggestion that the solution to school shootings is, among other things, to arm our teachers. I am also disgusted at the inability of our Legislature to at least curb the sale of AR-15s and similar assault rifles.

I have served in the

U.S. Army and I know how to use a gun, but I am appalled at the idea of placing more guns at our schools, regardless of whether the teachers are trained to use them. The gun I own — which I bought for protection after a break-in at my home while living in Miami — is kept in a locked gun safe where it cannot be stolen or misused. While I am no stranger to guns, they have no place whatsoever in any school facility except in the hands of trained law-enforcement officers whose sworn duty is to protect the public.

We currently protect our state and federal courthouses, many federal and state buildings, our airports, many other public facilities, and even many private office buildings with metal detectors. Aside from the expense which may not be insignificant, why in the world don’t we provide the same safety by having adequate fences and metal detectors at every single public and private school where our most precious commodity is, based upon recent history, exposed to danger? We must not allow our elected representatives to be intimidated by the NRA. We must apply common sense to a very serious problem. GERALD RICHMAN, WEST PALM BEACH