Opposing view: The students’ ‘solutions’ won’t save any lives

Students and much of the nation have been misled, and worse. The students’ grief is being exploited for political gain in the wake of the atrocity in Parkland, Fla. The “solutions” being fed to well-intentioned people will do nothing — and can do nothing — to prevent another attack like Parkland.

We feel the same grief and frustration. The difference is that we understand that the gun control proposals being put forward won’t save a single life. Not one.

A crazy idea isn’t crazy if it works, but even the most brilliant idea is foolish if it doesn’t work. When you know it doesn’t work, and you implement it anyway, that is beyond foolish.

Banning “assault weapons” — a made-up marketing term — has never been proven to work. Witness mass shootings with assault weapons from Mumbai to Paris to Sandy Hook and a 10-year experiment by Congress, where results were, at best, mixed.

“Strengthening background checks” is about prohibiting private sale or transfer of personal firearms. Such laws are easily ignored by criminals, while often entrapping innocents.

“Gun violence restraining orders” ignore the real problem — the person. Every state already has provisions for involuntary mental health evaluations. Why take away guns, rather than treat the person who is a danger?

Limiting magazine size overlooks the existing stock of millions of magazines, and the simplicity of what a magazine actually is, a box with a spring.

Let’s focus on what works. Hardening schools, involving law enforcement when threats first surface and having the means to quickly stop an attacker are all proven effective.

The shooting this week in Maryland was stopped by an armed school officer. In 1997, a school murderer in Pearl, Miss., was stopped by an (illegally) armed assistant principal. Disarming the good guys doesn’t make anyone safer. But supporters of gun control can’t stand to let a crisis go to waste.