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As part of the ongoing civic reaction to last week's horrific mass shooting at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, one Orange County school district is already saying no to a councilman's proposal their teachers carry firearms.
In a letter put forth Wednesday to the Capistrano Unified School District, San Juan Capistrano City Councilman Derek Reeve set forth his proposed plan to help "empower" teachers, staff, and parent volunteers at their schools to bring firearms they may already own to campuses in order to maintain safety, reports the Capistrano Dispatch.
In his letter, as published in full by the Dispatch, Reeve explains that the chain link fences on school grounds provide a false security, and that mass shootings often happen in places that are "gun-free" zones--making banning guns ineffectual. In fact, as Reeve explains, letting adults on campuses who are already gun owners BYOG is a cheap solution:
No teacher or staff member should be required to carry firearms, however many already own and are trained with their own firearms. The firearms can be easily and safely secured in the classrooms. Furthermore, this would require no additional funding. Volunteer parents are also a viable option. Another alternative would be to hire armed security; however this would require a funding source. Regardless security must be armed! While armed security is more costly, unarmed security is no security at all.
“Like school districts everywhere, we’re getting lots of well-intended suggestions and ideas on how to increase student security and safety in schools,” [CUSD's Marcus] Walton said. “While we appreciate the councilman’s interest in this topic, we will not entertain any proposal to have staff persons carry firearms.”