Sparking an International Debate on
Lasee’s Notes
Last week, in the wake of several school shootings including one in rural Wisconsin, I proposed legislation to give Wisconsin teachers and other school staff, who complete a background check and a rigorous gun safety course, the option to defend themselves and our children with weapons.
To clarify, this is how I described my proposal to my 10 year old daughter when she asked me over the weekend why so many people with cameras wanted to talk to me. I told her that somewhere in her school there will be a locked box (safe?) with a gun in it. And that if a bad person with a gun came into her school that wanted to hurt her or her classmates a school official who is trained to use it, would go to the box (safe?) and use the gun to protect them from harm. She looked at me, smiled and said, “That makes sense to me daddy,” and went back to playing.
Many disagree with me on this proposal. I challenge all those who disagree to offer their proposals. It is important that we are talking about improving the safety of our children in our schools. The discussion this idea created is an important step in making our schools even safer havens for learning.
The fact remains, armed criminals who commit these crimes in schools are NOT stopping at the school doors and dropping their weapons in accordance with the state and federal gun-free schools laws. In most cases, they are coming into our schools, unopposed, unchecked, and intent on destruction.
If they were confronted by a teacher, administrator, principal, or other authority figure who was trained to use a weapon, they may lay their weapons down. If not, they would face resistance and the would be victims could defend themselves and our children. Like it or not, school officials are our children’s last line of defense in a school attack. It makes sense to give them the ability to protect themselves and our children until the police arrive.
You probably haven’t seen it on the evening news -- several school shootings have been stopped by armed citizens.
In Mississippi, a vice-principal was forced by federal law to keep his gun in his car some 1000 feet from the school. After a student rushed into the school and started shooting, he ran out got his gun from the trunk and was able to stop the attacker. If he was allowed to have the weapon in the school in the first place, he may have been able to prevent the attack or stop it sooner. And the two children who lost their lives that day may still be alive.
Many people have asked me why I would dare to tackle such a controversial issue, especially in an election year. My answer to them has been that the safety of our children is far too important. We cannot have round table discussions and dream that criminals will follow the laws. Some of the greatest ideas in our nation’s history have risen out of controversy.
For those who disagree with me, I welcome your ideas and suggestions on how to make our schools safer. As well as those who support this concept on how to make it better. As we move forward with this debate on school safety, I know that in the end we will have made our schools a better and safer place for our children to learn.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lasee’s Notes is a weekly column by Representative Frank Lasee, 2nd Assembly District, covering events in the Legislature and statewide.
Last week, in the wake of several school shootings including one in rural Wisconsin, I proposed legislation to give Wisconsin teachers and other school staff, who complete a background check and a rigorous gun safety course, the option to defend themselves and our children with weapons.
To clarify, this is how I described my proposal to my 10 year old daughter when she asked me over the weekend why so many people with cameras wanted to talk to me. I told her that somewhere in her school there will be a locked box (safe?) with a gun in it. And that if a bad person with a gun came into her school that wanted to hurt her or her classmates a school official who is trained to use it, would go to the box (safe?) and use the gun to protect them from harm. She looked at me, smiled and said, “That makes sense to me daddy,” and went back to playing.
Many disagree with me on this proposal. I challenge all those who disagree to offer their proposals. It is important that we are talking about improving the safety of our children in our schools. The discussion this idea created is an important step in making our schools even safer havens for learning.
The fact remains, armed criminals who commit these crimes in schools are NOT stopping at the school doors and dropping their weapons in accordance with the state and federal gun-free schools laws. In most cases, they are coming into our schools, unopposed, unchecked, and intent on destruction.
If they were confronted by a teacher, administrator, principal, or other authority figure who was trained to use a weapon, they may lay their weapons down. If not, they would face resistance and the would be victims could defend themselves and our children. Like it or not, school officials are our children’s last line of defense in a school attack. It makes sense to give them the ability to protect themselves and our children until the police arrive.
You probably haven’t seen it on the evening news -- several school shootings have been stopped by armed citizens.
In Mississippi, a vice-principal was forced by federal law to keep his gun in his car some 1000 feet from the school. After a student rushed into the school and started shooting, he ran out got his gun from the trunk and was able to stop the attacker. If he was allowed to have the weapon in the school in the first place, he may have been able to prevent the attack or stop it sooner. And the two children who lost their lives that day may still be alive.
Many people have asked me why I would dare to tackle such a controversial issue, especially in an election year. My answer to them has been that the safety of our children is far too important. We cannot have round table discussions and dream that criminals will follow the laws. Some of the greatest ideas in our nation’s history have risen out of controversy.
For those who disagree with me, I welcome your ideas and suggestions on how to make our schools safer. As well as those who support this concept on how to make it better. As we move forward with this debate on school safety, I know that in the end we will have made our schools a better and safer place for our children to learn.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lasee’s Notes is a weekly column by Representative Frank Lasee, 2nd Assembly District, covering events in the Legislature and statewide.
posted by John Q Cheesehead | 2:16 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home