No Magic Bullet

I think that most of the school security guards are policemen or deputy sheriffs, at least that's what I have been seeing in the news media.  Some of them are full time, some are part time, and some of them rotate between more than one school building.  It's not a perfect solution, but I think it's a step in the right direction.  That guy in Florida who "didn't do anything" was outside the building when the attack began, and he claimed that he didn't rush in because he thought the shots were coming from outside the building.  I understand that he resigned under pressure, but that doesn't necessarily mean  he was in the wrong.  Maybe he just didn't want to spend the next several years arguing about it.  I seem to remember that the most recent incident ended with the live capture of the shooter, unless there's been another one that I haven't heard about.  There's been so many lately that I have a hard time keeping up with them.

I think we're going to see something done with gun control, probably after the Democrats take over Congress next year, but I would be surprised to see automatic firearms totally banned.  They have become so popular that, if they try to ban them all, they are likely to have a revolution on their hands. The loopholes in the background check procedure need to be closed, and the antis will probably start with that.  That in itself won't stop the shootings, but it's another step in the right direction.

More work needs to be done in the field of mental health, but I don't know how much good that will do.  Let's face it, mental health is not an exact science like math.  What one expert calls "mentally ill", another expert might call "socially deprived", or something like that.  Maybe we are all crazy in our own way, but some of us are more dangerous than others.

Meanwhile, first responders have been upgrading their training programs and conducting simulated "active shooter" drills.  Again, it's no magic bullet, but it can't do any harm.  I remember when they used to conduct nuclear holocaust drills.  They must have done some good because hardly anybody worries about that anymore.