WILLIAMS: Time to protect our schools using our nation’s veterans

by Lee Williams

If you’ve turned off your TV in disgust over coverage of the Parkland massacre, let me catch you up:

It’s the gun’s fault. It’s the President’s fault. It’s the NRA’s fault. It’s the FBI’s fault. It’s Gov. Scott’s fault. It’s DCF’s fault. It’s the (standard capacity) magazine’s fault. It’s the gun industry’s fault. It’s the gun dealer’s fault. It’s the ammunition’s fault. It’s the gun community’s fault. It’s the school’s fault. It’s the teachers’ fault. It’s society’s fault …

There’s hardly a mention of the pasty-faced little bastard who actually pulled the trigger, other than during an interview with the family who took him in. (Is it their fault too?)

In my humble opinion, all this endless debate does is distract us from the real issue: We need to harden our schools ASAP or there will be more carnage.

To sum: We need to fix the problem, not the blame.

There’s a group out there who are ready, willing and more than able to help secure our schools — our nation’s veterans.

They’re incredibly well trained. They’re equipped — every veteran I know has a carbine and a plate carrier — and they have already raised their hands and sworn an oath to protect this country from all enemies — foreign and domestic.

All that’s needed is a lawmaker at the state or federal level who’s willing to put their name on a bill authorizing the raising of a volunteer school security force.

I’ve heard from a lot of vets since the latest tragedy and, to be clear, they are all ready to go to work. They want to help.

There’s a sense of selflessness among our guys and gals who have served — the kind you won’t find in any other group.

If they were at a school and someone threatened the children, they would march — or more likely run — to the sound of the gunfire. They wouldn’t stage or stack or wait for SWAT.

They’d assess the situation, identify the threat and then shoot them in the face. If there were multiple shooters — rinse and repeat.

Then, they’d go home, have a beer or two and sleep like a baby, content that they’d done the right thing and that they’d had a easy day, since for most of our vets, after what they’ve been through, engaging a single shooter would be a very easy day.

The thought of vets wearing body armor and toting carbines on school property may be off-putting to some.

Good.

Better to deter a crime than to have shots fired.

If some deranged young paste-eater hellbent on making a media splash sees an armed team and rethinks his plans for Valhalla, so be it. The plan worked.

This proposal is damn near plug-and-play. All that would be required is some screening, some minor training — more like an orientation — and a green light from the politicians.

It makes infinitely more sense than training and arming teachers, since, if it’s my kids on that playground, I don’t want any first-timers or amateurs involved. I want the best — someone who knows exactly what they’re doing — someone who’s encountered and eliminated threats before.

As to the cost, maybe I’m wrong, but I can’t think of too many veterans who would take a dollar for safeguarding children.

For most of us, it would be an honor.

Originally published at TheGunWriter.com.  Reprinted with permission.