Ohio HB99 is effective today

More than two years after the Ohio Supreme Court threw school safety and justice out the window, and only after another massacre of school children in Uvalde, Texas, the Ohio legislature finally passed a bill allowing schools to enact policy to keep our children safe.

Today, September 12, 2022, Sub H.B. 99 becomes effective.

Unfortunately, that does not mean that the thousands of people who have been trained through the FASTER Saves Lives and other good programs and had previous authorization to carry firearms are protecting our kids today, but we are a significant step closer to that reality.

The law states that, “Not later than ninety days after the effective date of tis section, (today) the director of public safety shall appoint an individual who satisfies the criteria specified in division (B) of section 5502.701.” (Chief mobile training officer)

The law further states that, “Not later than ninety days after the appointment of the chief mobile training officer, the director of public safety shall appoint sixteen regional mobile training officers…”

It’s easy to see that this entire process could legally drag out for another school year. But it won’t.

It is obvious that Governor DeWine has made school safety a priority. He is a long-time and consistent supporter of making our schools and kids safer. It is clear that he has told his people at Department of Public Safety (DPS) that he wants this done, he wants this done now, and he wants this done right. They are not starting the above process today; they started the three months ago when the Governor signed H.B. 99 into law.

DPS still has an enormous amount of work to do. They are creating and spinning up a new entity. Doing it right just as important as doing it quickly. Rest assured; school safety is NOT being slow rolled. DPS is working on these issues and on answers to your many questions. We expect to start seeing some answers soon.

One issue DPS can not address is the requirement for a school board to notify the public that the board has authorized persons to go armed. We understand this requirement causes great concern to those who understand security and/or care about the safety of our school system. This was first inserted into the bill under Chairman Jeff LaRe, and we were unable to have it removed in the Senate version – though no person in the Senate was defending it, and some understand that it runs counter to school safety. We highly recommend that schools and parents contact their State Representative and Senators and ask that this dangerous provision be removed from Ohio law.

We understand that schools continue to be anxious to get back to the level of safety they employed for many years. We recommend that schools planning to reauthorize individuals to carry firearms review their policies and school safety plan. Ensure that those individuals they plan to authorize are continuing to train and maintain their skills in shooting, mindset and trauma care. Ensure there is a trauma team trained and equipped in each building. All staff should be trained in how they can be an asset during a threat of violence, including and active killer event.

No matter where your school is on the safety ladder, volunteers as FASTER Saves Lives are here to help you reach that next rung in making your school safer.

Jim Irvine – President Buckeye Firearms Foundation

HB99 Frequently Asked Questions

HB99 Restores Ohio School's ability to implement enhanced safety and security plans

HB99 has passed out of both the Ohio House and the Ohio Senate and is headed to Governor Dewine’s desk for his signature.
Here are some questions we have already received that we hope will clear up some misinformation in the news.

If you have more questions email or ask them on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

To read the entire bill and for more analysis check out this link on theA1S4 Protection PAC website: https://a1s4.com/hb-99-info/

FAQ

Governor DeWine signed HB99 on June 13th and the bill will become law on September 12th 2022.

It has not. Currently law requires ZERO training for schools to authorize anyone who is not an employee. There is no mention of 700 hours in current law. That is a law-enforcement number for their training for a very different job. The media either does not understand the truth, or does not care about the truth. Ask those who keep pushing this false narrative to show you where this is in existing law.

No. The bill requires schools to do nothing. It gives schools options. Schools are free to choose if want to avail themselves of any/all/none of them.

No. No person can be forced to carry a gun. No person should be forced to carry a gun.

No person can be forced to take on this roll. School staff were hired as school staff. Nothing changes that. This is an additional, optional step, if the school and employee agree and complete all state requirements.

HB99 specifies that the newly create Ohio School Safety and Crisis center via 16 mobile training officers develop and make available to schools a curriculum which does not exceed 24 hours initially. Recurring training not to exceed 8 hours will be required in subsequent years.

YES. All persons must be individually authorized by the school board before they are permitted to carry a firearm in school.

Not exactly, but hopefully practically. The law does not specifically grandfather in anyone. It specifies that armed staff must complete the Department of Public Safety (DPS) required training or submit an alternate curriculum for approval by the DPS. We will be submitting the FASTER Saves Lives training to the chief mobile training officer. If approved, then those previously trained through our FASTER Saves Lives program should be qualified. The same is true for any other training organization that has their curriculum approved.

No. They are teachers, principals, Superintendents, Maintenance staff, IT professionals, secretaries, nurses, coaches, lunch ladies and what ever job they are at the school. Because of the high level of training they have received, and the authorization they are given, they may have their guns with them instead of leaving them in their vehicle.

No. A teacher’s first responsibility is to their students, not everyone in the school. Different people have different roles in a school every day. The same is true if there is a serious event.

The same people who are liable if something goes wrong today or without the bill. Schools are responsible for the safety of the students. Every person using a firearm is responsible for every round that comes out of their gun. Police, CHL holder, homeowner, school staff. Neither where someone is or what they do relieves them of responsibility.
 

Yes. HB99 requires the school to notify the public ‘by whatever means the affected school regularly communicates with the public’

Yes. HB99 required the district to send the names of armed staff to the Department of Public Safety. HB99 also exempts this list of names from public record requests.  DPS ‘School Authorized Armed Staff Roster’ form.

The law does not specify. In general, laws function forward, not backwards. We will be asking the new Chief for clarification and believe that staff should have one year from the effective date of the legislation to complete their annual training requirements.

Any training that is submitted and approved by the DPS will count. This bill never was, and is not a FASTER Saves Lives bill. It is a school safety bill that does far more for our schools than our FASTER Saves Lives program has ever contemplated. We are interested in safe schools, and that is the point of this bill.

Buildings. It requires staff to be trained to understand how to respond to an active killer inside buildings as opposed to just practice on a square range.

That police training includes high speed driving and being an expert witness and many other things that have nothing to do with school staff or stopping a killer. It has nothing to do with firearms safety.
The 24-hour requirement is only one part. FASTER Saves Lives requires an 8-hour Foundations class as a prerequisite to begin our 24-hour class. Having an Ohio CHL is prerequisite to attending the Foundation class. The FASTER program has over 2 million man hours of schools staff safety carrying guns in schools. They have not caused any problems, but have saved many lives. It works well enough that no school has authorized and then repealed their program.

Yes. Federal law still prohibits carrying firearms in school zones (including the 1,000 foot perimeter). Having a current carry license from the state the school is in is an exemption to this prohibition, so having a license is still required for anyone on school property or in school zones.

The legislation calls for 16 regional mobile training officers. They will work with schools in their district to provide site security reviews and help districts make their schools safer. This is a key element of safety and security that has been missing in Ohio.

The mobile training officers and their knowledge and skills will be available to all schools. Every child is important, and every school must be safe.

HB99 specifies that the school pays the cost of any required training.

Governor DeWine just made $100,000,000.00 available to schools to for security improvements and upgrades.

Precious Foreknowledge to Recognize Threats

by Ron Borsch

PENALTY FOR IGNORING CLUES

The tragic failure of both school staff and parents ignoring numerous clues by an evil rogue-killer-to-be teen, 15, who demonstrated evidence of Numerous Unstable or Troubling Symptoms, (NUTS©) and claimed the lives of four students. An alert, concerned teacher initially and correctly reported his/her apprehension to superiors. However, it all went downhill from there. if you are not familiar with this 113021 Michigan Rapid Mass Murder©, first see Oxford prosecutor releases alleged school shooter’s drawings for details and a brief video.

“What are the signs that a person is disturbed enough to take action? The signs are quite visible, although difficult to interpret without a context—and unfortunately they unfold very quickly, and people can rarely witness them before the action is taken…” (Larry Greenemeier)

FOREKNOWLEDGE

Foreknowledge is of course awareness of something before it happens or exists. There is no magic involved, as ancient wisdom illustrates: “What enables the wise sovereign and the good general to strike and conquer, and achieve things beyond the reach of ordinary men is foreknowledge… Knowledge of the enemy’s dispositions can only be obtained from other men.” (Sun Tzu).

LEFT OF BANG

More recently and compelling, a couple of former Marines, Patrick Van Horne  and Jason A. Riley  authored the book “Left of Bang.” They affirm a compelling truth: It’s better to detect sinister intentions early than respond to violent actions late”. The term Left of Bang “refers to the attack timeline where Bang (in the middle) is the attack. Everything to the left of it is what precedes the attack, and what’s on the right is what follows. Left of/before the attack is the time for proactive prevention. Right of/after the attack begins is when reactive countermeasures take place. Left of Bang is obviously where we’d want to stay, and in order to do so, we’d want to detect early warning signs, which we can then disrupt or avoid in order to prevent the attack.” Those Marines had skin in the game, and developed a system of recognizing anomalies that could forewarn them of risks associated with ambush, booby-traps and command detonated explosives. Teachers certainly deserve to learn what anomalies and warning signs can keep schools safer from these student assassins.

PROFILING THESE MURDERERS

Some experts have said that a profile of Rapid Mass Murderers© cannot be done, due to a myriad of variables. I agree that it was difficult, however our exclusive protocol made it possible. After a couple of decades of experience instructing, presenting, research and writing on the subject, it became obvious that if no one else would dare broach the subject, I would, and did in 2018. I was recently invited to do my “Stopwatch of Death”© presentation at a future School Resource Officer (SRO) convention, so now was a good time to update my previously internet-published “Profiling An Active Killer” for 2022. My update appears below.

It is key to recognize that the ten identifying factors below have been the most common indicators in the past, so it is still my work-in-progress. An active killer could range from having only a few if any of these factors, up to most of them. These indicators lend some helpful context to an alert thinking person orienting them to seeing visible, audible, behavioral, and sometimes subtle clues. However, as they are not rules carved in stone, especially in the light of factually, there will always be exceptions to any rule.

The value of this identification profile would also depend on a clustering of these factors. Several factors or more in a cluster would mean a greater risk of a suspect acting out. For context and accompanied by relevant written articulation (matched with each factor cited), they could even be used as evidentiary citing’s where needed, for a school suspension, expulsion, termination, or arrest.

PROFILING AN ACTIVE KILLER©

Copyright 2021 Ron Borsch

(Note: When the author is properly credited for his work anywhere it appears, permission to share is granted)

1) NUTS©: Possessing a standout of “Numerous Unstable or Troubling Symptoms” ©. Murder starts in the mind.  Some active killers have been clinically diagnosed before or after the incident as mentally ill. NUTS© is probably the most frequent and revealing factor, especially considering the suspects tracking history of words, (especially social media), videos, drawing, etc. and deeds such as Animal cruelty, can all reveal malice forethought.

2) ABNORMAL, bizarre, eccentric, or nonconforming oddball, sometimes shunned by his peers. Any cliquish, unfair treatment, ridiculing, playing tricks on or any embarrassment of these NUTS© could result in deadly pay-back. Recall that a few of these rogue-humans have actually murdered their own parent/parents before going onto their main target.

3) IMMATURE, and or Low IQ. The human mind does not fully mature until around age 25, or even older according to new UK research. However, a sick or evil mind acting out can occur at any age. A recent revelation of some active killers is their being an INCEL, (involuntary celibate movement), unable to attract a girlfriend. “Evil is as evil does”.

4) PLANNER, PREPARER and/or RESEARCHER of previous Rapid Mass Murder© incidents. An unhealthy fan of the Colorado Columbine High School massacre and or Adolph Hitler. A suspended, fired, or expelled, former student or employee. Often shares their evil intent with one or more persons. Reconnoiters and rehearses his plan.

5) AGE CONNECTION very close to targeted victim pool. Exceptions have been pre-school, kindergarten and elementary school massacres, where the active killer is typically much older than the victims. 

6) SUICIDAL, often having spoken about or actually attempted suicide previously. However, post-murdering, active killers have been more likely to flee or surrender to police, only rarely engaging in a firefight with officers.

7) VIOLENT VIDEO GAMES: Especially about Columbine High School. An excessive and unhealthy fascination or addiction with violence is a common trait.

8) WHITE MALE, (98 percent), typically seeking retribution for a real or perceived wrong and or to achieve notoriety or infamy. Many seem to be affected by the copycat effect using Columbine as a role model.

9) COWARDLY, rarely distinguished with any positive trait of courage. Avoiding a fair fight, he is seeking to quickly surprise, ambush and assassinate defenseless innocents before anyone can stop him.

10) ACCESS TO WEAPONS: Arson, Bow/Crossbow, Explosives, Firearms, Hatchet, Knives, Vehicle, Etc. Each of these have been used by active killers. Tools used in Rapid Mass Murder© may be owned by the active killer or acquired from parents, relatives or friends. Weapons have been concealed on-body video, in book bags, back-packs, lockers and vehicles.

BLAMELESS are Tools or Methods used in Rapid Mass Murder©. Tools and methods do not have a mind of their own, nor is it even possible to act on their own. Again, “Evil is as evil does”. It is always an EVIL HUMAN ANIMATOR of inanimate objects that has full and complete responsibility for these mass murders. Those that would call for blaming, forbidding or outlawing inanimate objects to allegedly solve the problem either have not clearly thought the issue through, or are among our enemies that wish to weaken America by disarming citizens.

CONCLUSION

Wisdom, ancient or modern, should be considered and respected. No one should have to start at square one during urgent conditions. Having tools or resources to guide or measure risk can be lifesaving helpful. This updated active killer profile can be a piece of indispensable public service, my humble contribution for Parents, Teachers, School staff, School Resource Officers, Trainers and law enforcement in general. The right person acting at the right time, utilizing “Left of Bang” principles to remain Left-of-Bang while using a realistic guide to profile the risks posed by a potential active killer, is very likely to side-step potential violence and bloodshed.

In the meantime, have a Back-Up strategy. I recommend training and arming selected volunteer teachers, having one SRO at each school, and acquiring the notification School Guard 911 app for each teacher’s smart-phone (free for police officers). This is a precious time and lifesaving notification directly to patrol officers with simultaneous connection reporting to police dispatch.

Thanks to Ohio’s Buckeye Firearms Foundation, they have already trained two thousand teachers and staff for free in their F.A.S.T.E.R. system of active killer countermeasures and emergency, (stop the bleeding), first aid. Also, and importantly, their considerable lobbying efforts in changing Ohio law to permit armed teachers is near success.

Ron Borsch is a Viet Nam veteran, (1965-66 U.S. Army paratrooper 101st Airborne) and is retired from two careers, 30 years as a police officer including SWAT and 17 years as a police trainer. Supported by seven SEALE Chiefs of Police, he founded, managed and was the chief trainer for SEALE Regional Police Training Academy in Bedford Ohio, which was attended by officers from 10 other states. He has also presented before international law enforcement trainer audiences in several states and two countries. For the last several years he has served on two expert panels at annual ILEETA international conferences and at the 2018 FASTER expert panel. Ron is a hobby writer, and does pro-bono presentations for local civic groups, schools and churches.

Saving Our School Children from Dangerous Judges in Ohio

by Rob Morse

We do a lot to protect our children. We learn as new threats come along. The news media has bombarded us with messages saying that mass murder is common and increasing. Ordinary people like us feel a growing need to protect our families. That makes sense to me, but I’ve met some wonderful men and women who go further and put their lives on the line to save other people’s children. I listened to school staff who volunteered to protect their students. In their words, these teachers raised their hands and volunteered so they could protect “their kids”. That commitment and compassion is as serious as anything I’ve seen.

I wish you were there with me because my heart leapt when I saw these ordinary people take training so they could rush forward and stop an attack at their school. They train themselves to put their body between our children and a murderer’s bullet. These amazing school staff and church staff care more about the lives of their students than their own lives. We are wonderfully rich that these ordinary heroes, our neighbors, care so much about our kids. Until recently, we got it right that these teachers may protect our kids the same way we would protect them if we were there. That changed when a few supreme court justices in Ohio disarmed the defenders. Now, we have to fix that. Heaven helps them if these children are hurt.

Let’s put school safety into perspective.

Mass murderers look for easy targets. They deliberately attack vulnerable people in locations where the intended victims are disarmed and unprotected. Schools and churches are common targets because these are seen as gun-free zones. In Ohio, they took significant steps to eliminate these gun-free zones.

There are more than 1-and-a-half-million students in Ohio schools. When you add them up, there are about a hundred thousand school teachers in Ohio. After the horrific attacks on the staff and the students in the elementary school in Sandy Hook, Connecticut, thousands of teachers in Ohio volunteered, under the current Ohio law to protect their students. They wanted to stop the murderer until the police arrived and took over. These volunteers wanted to stop the bleeding until emergency medical personnel arrived to take their place. That is inspiring.

Ohio voters also elected thousands of school board members. School boards get input from millions of parents. Those school boards listened to local parents and addressed the issue of protecting students. Hundreds of school boards in Ohio then worked with their sheriffs to put a safety plan in place. Together, they screened and trained volunteer staff to be armed first responders and to provide life-saving critical trauma care. I’m inspired that thousands of people volunteer to protect our kids every day, not their kids, our kids.

The attack at Sandy Hook Elementary School happened over 9 years ago. Since then, the program in Ohio has accumulated over 2-million hours of real-world experience with these volunteer first responders. The program spread across 200 school districts in Ohio alone. The program did not stop at the Ohio border, the program was adopted in several other states. In Ohio, these trained first responders performed extremely well. until four justices made it illegal.

Politics is a real consideration, and elections have consequences. Unfortunately, there were considerable forces arrayed against the low information voter. Anti-gun billionaire Michael Bloomberg made large political donations to get anti-gun judges elected. Money talks, and Bloomberg got the judges and the results he wanted in Ohio. These justices said that school staff who were armed needed to first pass through a police academy before they could protect their students at school. That seems so odd, since these same school staff members are permitted to protect those same students every other hour of the day as legal concealed carry license holders in Ohio.

The Ohio Senate passed several bills to remove the legal ambiguity the justices introduced. They confirmed that school boards could authorize selected school staff members to be first responders without going through four-months of police training. After being examined by their school board and sheriff, these trained volunteer school staff members could go armed as they worked. They could provide emergency trauma care without first being licensed as an emergency medical technician or a paramedic. Does that make sense?

You don’t have to be a trained firefighter to use a fire extinguisher in your home. You shouldn’t have to pass mandatory firefighting training to use a fire extinguisher where you work, either. You shouldn’t require EMT training to apply a tourniquet. Imposing that training puts us at greater risk rather than making us safer. The reason is simple. School janitors and cafeteria workers have done a fine job protecting children without first passing a course on high-performance driving in pursuit of a fleeing suspect as taught in police academies. We need more volunteers who will help, not fewer.

We need the many volunteers we have rather than a few fantasy defenders the state won’t fund. Save the fantasy heroes for the comic books.

There is a temptation for legislators to add restrictions on school safety programs. Their amendments let politicians issue a press release, but it doesn’t show that the politicians actually care about our children. School boards and school administrators do care, and that is why they have been working so hard with local law enforcement and others to find the safest and most effective ways to protect their students and staff.

One of these ways is through the FASTER Saves Lives program. (Faculty & Administrator Safety Training and Emergency Response) The program was designed by the same people who were paid to look at the problems encountered by school resource officers. As part of their job, they routinely collect real-world results from across the country. They accumulated centuries of experience in the field and decades of experience in its analysis. That was how the program to train school staff started, but it has evolved every year as they learn more.

I’ve taken this training. Beware the legislator who wants to hang a requirement on the program so he can “feel better” about it. This legislator probably has not been through the existing training. He, or she, hasn’t studied the results of the graduates who are now first responders in the classroom. He has not interviewed the school board members across Ohio who are responsible for our children’s safety.

Before you modify an existing program, make sure that you first do no harm.

The Ohio Senate clarified the law to allow volunteer first responders. Now, the Ohio House has to follow suit. Unfortunately, modifications by well-meaning legislators are far more likely to cause harm than to do good. They are more likely to leave our children at greater risk. Let the local school boards continue to exercise their authority and get the law out of their way.

Let me give you an example of a theoretical problem that has real-world ramifications. Some critics say that these volunteer defenders might be shot by responding police officers because the defenders are not wearing a uniform. That sounds like a valid concern until you consider that a uniform also shows the attacker who to shoot first.

As you’d expect, the people who live with that problem have already considered it. One volunteer told me, “We train with local police officers all the time. Maybe I’ll get shot by a cop that I don’t know, who comes rushing in to help. That’s OK. At least my kids will be safe by the time the police get here.”

I wish our Ohio representatives were as dedicated as these school volunteers. Ohio House Bill 99 restores the ability of school boards to approve armed volunteer staff in their schools. Your phone calls can help the representatives do the right thing before our children get hurt.

Rob Morse writes about gun rights at Ammoland, at Clash Daily, at Second Call Defense, and on his SlowFacts blog. He hosts the Self Defense Gun Stories Podcast and co-hosts the Polite Society Podcast. Rob was an NRA pistol instructor and combat handgun competitor.

Ohio Supreme Court rules that schools should arm people they don’t know.

Columbus, Ohio – For immediate release

 

In a convoluted 4-3 ruling, the Ohio Supreme Court issued an opinion that Ohio Revised Code 2923.122 does not mean what is says. In short, schools may not allow their staff to carry firearms, even if they pass qualifications higher than Ohio law-enforcement, but school boards can authorize any non-employee with a CHL to carry firearms without further restrictions.

 

The Ohio Senate passed legislation multiple times last session that would have solved this problem, but the House never took action. This year Representative Thomas Hall (R-53) has introduced HB99 which will resolve the issue. It has had multiple hearings in the House Criminal Justice Committee, but Chairman Jeff LaRe has not scheduled a vote yet.

“The only thing that should be a higher priority than the budget should be the safety of our children.” Said Jim Irvine, co-director of FASTER Saves Lives. “Our program has been recognized as the best in the country because we hire and work with our nation’s experts. When a court ruling endangers the lives of our children, it becomes the obligation of the legislature to promptly correct the defect.”

The majority opinion even makes this point stating, “To the extent that the third dissenting opinion is correct in placing blame for inconsistencies within the statutory language of R.C. 109.78 on the legislative inadvertence, the General Assembly may take up the cause to eliminate those inconsistencies.”

The ruling negates the emergency response plan in hundreds of Ohio schools. Without legislative action, schools must now abandon best practice replace it with some less effective measures. “Schools and law-enforcement are upset that what they know is safest policy is now illegal in Ohio.” Noted Irvine.

 

It’s a shame that certain individuals, including Supreme Court justices have put anti-gun bias and politics above the safety of our children. Hopefully the legislature takes immediate action so that schools are safe when they return in the fall.

Contact Jim Irvine 440-503-3011 or Joe Eaton 513-267-6088

Narrow 4-3 Ohio Supreme Court ruling says armed teachers need police training

A narrow 4-3 ruling by the Ohio Supreme Court (OSC) determined that Ohio school staff may not carry firearms unless they have police training. Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor joined the three Democrat justices in a decision which found that a Madison Local School District policy which allowed armed staff violates state law.

From the Columbus Dispatch:

“(Ohio law) prohibits a school from employing a person who goes armed while on duty in his or her job unless the employee has satisfactorily completed an approved basic peace-officer-training program or has 20 years of experience as a peace officer,” O’Connor wrote. 

… 

The remaining Republican justices dissented from the court’s decision. Justice Pat DeWine and Justice Sharon Kennedy, who are both running for chief justice in 2022, wrote that teachers and school staff did not need extensive police training.  “Had the General Assembly intended to condition the authority to carry a firearm in a school safety zone on having the basic police training required of peace officers, it could have written the statute that way,” Kennedy wrote. “It did not.”

Indeed, that was the opinion even of then-Attorney General Mike DeWine, who in 2012, and again in 2013, expressed his opinion as attorney general that “Ohio law does not prevent a local school board from arming an employee, unless that employee’s duties rise to the level that he/she would be considered “security personnel.” 

The OSC ruling is bound to put pressure on the Ohio General Assembly, who last year neglected to finish work on a bill that would have clarified the intent of lawmakers to allow local boards of education to make their own decisions when it comes to arming staff members beyond those who were hired as security personnel.

Again, from the Dispatch:

Former Sen. Bill Coley attempted to loosen the training requirements for teachers last year. His proposed changes passed the Ohio Senate but never became law. Rep. Thomas Hall, R-Madison Township, introduced a similar bill earlier this year.

The shocking anti-gun rights ruling is bound to remind Ohio gun owners owners of a 2003 ruling in which the Ohio Supreme Court upheld what was then a complete ban on concealed carry in the state of Ohio.

In that ruling, which, ironically, featured a scathing dissent by then-Justice O’Connor, the Court decided that the concealed carry ban did no violate Ohio’s constitution since the ability to carry firearms openly was still allowed in some circumstances.

That ruling prompted Buckeye State gun owners to take to the streets in cities and towns throughout Ohio, conducting Open Carry ‘Defense’ walks designed to demonstrate the obsurdity of state law and demand the legislature to act.

It seems it may be time for school staff and supportive gun owners to take to the streets once again.

Gun owners and other concerned parents should also contact their State Representatives and Senators and demand immediate passage of Rep. Hall’s HB 99 (EXEMPT ARMED SCHOOL PERSONNEL FROM POLICE TRAINING), which will expressly exempt persons authorized to go armed within a school safety zone from a requirement to complete extensive peace officer basic training. Time is of the essence if legislators are to ensure that school students are protected this fall.

Chad D. Baus served as Buckeye Firearms Association Secretary from 2013-2019, and continues to serve on the Board of Directors. He is co-founder of BFA-PAC, and served as its Vice Chairman for 15 years. He is the editor of BuckeyeFirearms.org, which received the Outdoor Writers of Ohio 2013 Supporting Member Award for Best Website, and is also an NRA-certified firearms instructor.

Preventing School Shootings: Observe…Investigate…Intercede

The U.S. Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center recently released a report on targeted school violence that didn’t seem to get much attention from the media. After reading it, we can understand why, as it doesn’t easily fit into the standard legacy media paradigm of exploiting tragedy to “prove” that guns are bad, and we need new laws to further restrict access to them.

This report focused on the analysis of “67 averted school attack plots” in the U.S. from 2006 to 2018, with an averted attack defined as “a plot in which (i) a current or former K-12 school student (ii) took steps to advance an attack plan (iii) to cause physical injury to, or the death of, at least one student and/or school employee.”

Of course, it is impossible to know for sure, how many of the 67 plots would have actually led to violent attacks, but the report showed that those whose plots were uncovered shared many similarities with those who actually did perpetrate school attacks.

The shared histories of those who plotted and those who perpetrated attacks included:

  • Histories of school discipline and contact with law enforcement.
  • Experience with bullying or mental health issues, frequently involving depression and suicidality.
  • Intent to commit suicide as part of the plot.
  • Use of drugs or alcohol.
  • Having been impacted by adverse childhood experiences, including substance abuse in the home, violence or abuse, parental incarceration, or parental mental health issues.

The real takeaway from the report, though, is that plots against schools are often preventable.

Whether the plotters actually discussed their plans with others, or exhibited behavioral patterns and/or experiences that indicated there may be something troubling the plotter, the reason each of these 67 plots was uncovered was that someone became aware of a potential problem and reported the situation.

In its analysis of the overview of the plots averted, the report looked at school characteristics, plotter demographics, motivation for the plots, planning, plot elements, plot detection and reporting, and responding to the report.

Under the background of the plotters, the report looked at disciplinary history, prior law enforcement contact, mental health and substance use, stressors, bullying, concerning communications, and interest in violence.

All of the categories under the overview of plots and backgrounds of the plotters had numerous subsets—some shared and some not—so delving into those details would run a bit long. Anyone interested in those details can review the report online.

When it comes to the topic of firearms, that issue is discussed, predominantly falling under planning and plot elements.

Firearms were planned to be used by most of those plotting violence. But more than half also intended to use explosives, while many others planned on using incendiary devices and/or bladed weapons. More than half intended to use at least two or three types of weapons.

The report says that roughly three-quarters of the cases involved plotters who had “potential access to at least one weapon,” but that includes all potential weapons, not just firearms. The report is also unclear as to what “potential access” actually means in each circumstance.

The overall message from the report is that, in many situations, if not most or all, students who plot violent attacks that take place at school can be stopped before they perpetrate their crimes. Identifying stressful circumstances and the signs that an individual is experiencing them is key. So is reporting such things. And, of course, reporting any communication of threats is paramount to interceding in a possible future attack.

Sadly, there have been instances when warning signs were ignored, and tragedy followed. It is then that anti-gun extremists tend to start calling for more restrictions on firearms. The reality of this report, though, is that there are means to prevent tragedy without diminishing our rights protected under the Second Amendment.

The report makes clear that if people pay attention to the actions of truly troubled students, and act accordingly, tragedy can often be averted. It also shows that those in distress can have their situations appropriately evaluated, and treatment can follow before it is too late to act.

© 2021 National Rifle Association of America, Institute for Legislative Action. This may be reproduced. This may not be reproduced for commercial purposes.

The complete expert op-ed on teachers with guns Cleveland.com refused to print

[Editor’s note: On January 30, Cleveland.com published an editorial board roundtable entitled “Should Ohio teachers with CCW permits be allowed to carry on school premises?” Conclusions ranged from “lunatic” to “irresponsible” to “tragedy waiting to happen,” but no facts were offered to back up their opinions. Retired police officer, trainer and Rapid Mass Murder expert Ron Borsch responded with a 700 word explanation, chock full of facts, but Cleveland.com refused to publish more than a 200 word summary. We are pleased to offer it here in its entirety.]


To whom it may concern:

Regarding: 013021 Roundtable on Teachers with permits having a gun at school

I read your editorial with great interest, since for decades I have studied Rapid Mass Murder events by active killers, and maintain a Stopwatch of Death database that goes back to 1975 for law enforcement training purposes.

That has included training hundreds of officers in active killer responses at a local regional police training academy with ten states attending, in-person presentations to International LE trainer audiences in other states, revealing my data in published interviews, my own articles and in and for years in a national-international law enforcement-only newsletter. Whatever the final solution to these horrific events may be anyone’s guess. Here is the definable problem: In each and every school invader incident, these mass murders will continue until someone effectively stops that particular murderer.

While there have been Rapid Mass Murder incidents where the cowardly assassin stopped murdering on his own, blood thirst satiated, because he was in total control, no one could stop him and he left the scene, waited for police or committed suicide on- or off-site. However, in many instances, the murderer is certainly killing on a mission to assassinate as many innocent’s as possible, sometimes for their own perceived infamy to achieve a high-score body-count. As mentally depressing as this all may be to the reader, consider the innocent victims final harmful physical option of bare hands against a firearm. Make it personal, visualize your own children or relatives.

It is key to understand the rapidity with which mass murder can occur. The bloodshed potential is one attempted murder per second (both dead and wounded, rounded down from 1.27).

Here is an example: At a “Meet your Congress person” event at a shopping center in Tucson, Arizona on August 1, 2011, an active killer wounded Rep. Gabriel Gifford’s in the head and continued to shoot others until block/tackled quickly by an already wounded retired military veteran leading others. The body count totaled six dead and 13 wounded in 15 seconds. The deadly threat was over before anyone could even notify police. Once notified, officers arrived in four minutes. I have documented both faster and slower police arrival times for an active killer event.

That example is relevant in that reality dictates that even a nearby School Resource Officer as close as only 100 yards away is unlikely to arrive in less than 15 seconds. Off-site police would take multiple times longer to arrive, locate, and finally take action. However, a teacher or teachers are already on-site. Both pre- and post-Columbine High School in Colorado, numerous unarmed teachers and staff have died trying to protect their students.

The short, simple, logical and realistic solution to save innocent lives is right in from of us. Voluntary, properly trained and armed teachers would have a much better chance of stopping a spontaneous Rapid Mass Murder than either on-site police or off-site police. A best case scenario would be for each school to have both an SRO and armed teachers. Like it or not, that is our world today.

So far as I am aware, a single (98%) male mass murderer has never been merciful, and needs to be stopped the very instant their threat is detected. We do not need second-guessing naysayers speaking about the less-serious possibility of accidents or unintentional harm by the good guys instead of a better final option than empty-hand defense by victim students and teachers.

Liability? Yes, schools and administrators doing nothing effective to protect innocent students and staff from a known threat deserve to be liable. Schools and staff trying to effectively reduce the realistic threat by training and arming teachers deserve our admiration and would be respected by a jury. It is also a question of how we insist on paying, in the blood of innocents or in insurance dollars.

Sincerely,

Ron Borsch Retired Police Officer and Trainer
Bedford, Ohio