It has been said, “Evil resides in the heart of a man.” Once again this was made evident at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Once again the progressives are up in arms for gun control. But can gun control actually work? If you take away legal guns there are always black market weapons available. Then again, how did the most absolute gun-free zones ever protect Uncle Able from Uncle Cain or Caesar from Brutus?

Having dispelled the anti-gun myths, let’s ask who and what failed, and how. What can we do? Do we hold social services and law enforcement responsible? No, the time for blaming and recriminations is past. So, what are our options?

We could make it easier for social services to report someone to law enforcement. Let’s forget the idea of stigmatizing the mentally ill at a cost to society. Remove the hurdles social services must clear to communicate with law enforcement. Then make it easier for already financially strapped law enforcement agencies to report this vital information to the federal background check database.

Another option, which has gained a lot of momentum since the Parkland tragedy, is placing armed personnel with concealed carry permits on campus. School personnel who already own firearms, many of which are former military or law enforcement who are already trained for such situations, could be trained to handle campus shooting situations.

There are a number of possible options available to our schools, but I believe armed personnel is the best and the only reactive option because they can shoot back at the evil. When it comes right down to it, the only way to ensure gun-free zones is to have them guarded by guns.

Dave Ricker

Wiscasset

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