FASTER Trauma Training put to use TWICE in May

The month of May was national ‘Stop the Bleed’ month and staff from two different schools had to use the training and equipment they received from FASTER Saves Lives in two different emergencies!

The trauma medical portion of the FASTER Level 1 class is valuable inside and outside of schools, not only for injuries resulting from violence, but from any other emergency such as severe weather or sports injuries, kitchen, lab or bus accidents. Below are two emails we received from school staff who put this training to use in the past month.

WHERE IS YOUR TRAUMA KIT?

NOTE: Any trauma kits purchased from FASTER Saves Lives are ‘lifetime’ kits. If you ever use one of our kits in an emergency, simply let us know and we will replace any equipment used.

#1

May 3, 2019

Mr. Eaton

As an Ohio high school teacher, I was fortunate enough to attend the FASTER program at the Tactical Defense Institute (TDI) in 2018. As a result of the FASTER training, I am confident that I can provide trauma care if it’s ever needed on my school’s campus. The program made me realize the importance of always being prepared in case of an emergency which is why I keep a trauma kit in each of my vehicles. The trauma portion of the FASTER program is something that all school staff should experience. I’d like to share with you how I recently used the skills and techniques that I learned during the FASTER trauma training.

Last month, I was mowing the lawn at my parent’s house. It was a normal day or at least I thought it was. My mother was pulling weeds in a flower bed in the backyard. I heard screaming a few minutes later and rushed to investigate. I found my mother crying and she was bleeding heavily from her leg. She had lost her balance and had fallen on a large stem. The stem had broken when she fell and it went into her leg. I was in shock as much as she was. She had serious trauma to her leg. The amount of blood loss was alarming. She was bleeding everywhere and it wasn’t stopping. It was at that point that the training that I received from the FASTER program kicked in. I ran to my truck and grabbed a tourniquet from my trauma kit and applied it to her leg. After applying the tourniquet, I managed to get the bleeding to stop. Minutes later, she was taken to the emergency room. The amount of blood loss that she would have experienced without the tourniquet would have been life threatening. I credit my ability and quick response to the training I received from the FASTER program. The training that the FASTER program provides across the country simply saves lives.

#2

Hi Joe,
I just want to say Thank You to the FASTER Organization.  Last week we had an elementary student with a badly broken arm.  We used the supplies that we received from the FASTER training to make a splint out of two rulers and wrap and then used the triangle bandage to make a sling.  The emergency room said it was the best splint they have seen come into the ER.    These are supplies we would not have had in our med kit if it wasn’t for FASTER!

You can see all the kits we offer for sale here: https://bit.ly/FSLTraumaKitVideo and the order form is here: https://bit.ly/FSLTraumaKits

Joe Eaton – Program Director FASTER Saves Lives

On Anniversary of Columbine, FASTER Saves Lives Reaches Critical Milestone

Since our first FASTER Saves Lives class in the spring of 2013, we have trained more than 2,600 school staff from over 260 school districts across 18 states, including staff from 79 of Ohio’s 88 counties. Demand from schools is still growing. For 2019 we already have 15 classes scheduled in 4 or 5 states just this summer alone.

April 20, 2019, marks 20 years since two students committed one of the most horrific crimes ever in our schools. So what has changed in 20 years (Columbine), 12 years (Virginia Tech), or 7 years (Sandy Hook) for how schools and law enforcement respond to violence in our schools and other mass killings?

The year 1999 marked the high point for this type of extreme violence in America’s schools. The decade before 1999 saw on average 19 fatal schools shootings per year, compared to the decade we just completed where American schools saw on average 6 fatal shootings with 14 killed per year.

Prior to 1999, most deaths were the result of gang warfare spilling into classrooms. Columbine was one of the first where the motivation to become famous played a significant role.

Prior to 1999, widespread general violence had forced law enforcement to create and adopt SWAT and similar response teams to deal with criminal situations. Unfortunately it was not until long after Columbine that they began to realize these mass killings were a new type of crime. The murderers no longer made demands or sought negotiation. They simply wanted a high body count.

Waiting for SWAT or other teams to arrive gave the killers what they wanted: more time to kill. This started a slow evolution in law enforcement tactics, beginning with those first to arrive on scene entering schools sooner in small teams.

At the same time, schools were working to be more open and inviting to students, staff and the community in general. Unfortunately it took additional dead and injured students to push the pace of change in law enforcement response.

In 2007, when the mass killings at Virginia Tech occurred, police were in the best position possible. In response to a double murder in the dorms just two hours earlier, SWAT was activated and ready to go. As the murderer entered Norris Hall that morning, there were already 2 fully-geared-up, highly trained SWAT teams less than one mile away.

We will never get a faster response from highly trained law enforcement teams than we had at Virginia Tech,  but there were still over 50 casualties. Law enforcement response was not the solution to this problem.

Schools finally started to realize that a more open environment for students, staff, and community may be opening them up to more violence as well.

By 2012, schools had started implementing more and more layers of safety and security. On the morning of December 14, Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT, was probably at the leading edge of this change.  Among other improvements, they had implemented single avenues of entry, automatic locking of doors, and even had on-site mental health professionals to identify and assist with problem students.

The Newtown police were also on the leading edge of response that morning. The first officer arrived in less than 3 minutes, and two more were on-site just seconds later. Even with this rapid response, the community lost 20 babies and 6 adults.

Sandy Hook was a defining event for many schools. School boards suddenly realized that if their response plan to violence was to wait for outside help to arrive, the results would likely never get any better than Sandy Hook. And another 20 dead was just not acceptable.

These schools reached out to professional law enforcement, as well as medical and safety experts, and began to figure out that TIME IS ALL THAT MATTERS. When violence starts, the sooner you 1) stop the killing with immediate aggressive force and 2) stop the bleeding with immediate medical care, the more lives will be saved.

This realization gave birth to the FASTER Saves Lives program, which addresses both issues 1 and 2. It shrinks the response time to a minimum by having armed, trained staff on-site at all times. This program has helped to dramatically change the mindset of previously skeptical schools, parents, and law-enforcement, who now see school staff as part of the solution.

Today we are proud to be recognized as the leading program for school violence. We have partnered with our nation’s experts on psychology, firearms, and traumatic medical care. We are training more and more school staff. And we continue to learn and evolve to meet the demand from schools who want the highest level of safety for their staff and students.

For more information, visit FASTERSavesLives.org.

Joe Eaton serves as Treasurer of Buckeye Firearms Association and is Program Director for Buckeye Firearms Foundation’s FASTER Saves Lives program.

Headline: Manchester Local Schools votes 4-1 in favor of arming teachers

WCPO (ABC Cincinnati) is reporting that the board of Manchester Local Schools voted 4-1 in favor of arming teachers and staff in front of a scattered handful of spectators Wednesday night.

Superintendent Brian Rau was quoted as saying he believed the meager turnout was an indication most of the community supported his plan, which would allow volunteer staff members to carry concealed weapons after taking a three-day, 27-hour training course through the Tactical Defense Institute in West Union.

From the article:

Tim Davis, a middle school science teacher, said he believed Manchester schools employees would be able to react faster to a crisis than police, more effectively limiting the damage a shooter would be able to do. “The Stoneman Douglas shooting took place in the span of about 15 minutes,” he said. “Average police response time is 12.5 minutes. God forbid, if it were to happen, the shooting would be over and done with and we’d be left to pick up the pieces until law enforcement gets here.” … He had been discussing the idea of arming some staff members with the community for a year. “We don’t have a police department. We do have the Adams County Sheriff’s Department, but they could be at quickest 20 minutes away. Most of the school shootings are finished within way before 20 minutes,” Rau said. The district has a school resource officer, but he can’t be everywhere at the same time and protect the 841 students in the district, he added. “You always want to send the kids home in as good or better shape than the parents sent them to you in the morning,” Davis said. “I feel that being able to protect them in any way is guaranteeing that.”

Security-minded parents who live in places with differing philosophies at area schools may want to keep this in mind and consider open-enrolling in a school that is capable of providing immediate protection for their children.

In response to the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, which claimed the lives of 20 children and 6 adult staff members, Buckeye Firearms Foundation launched an emergency response training program here in Ohio for teachers, administrators, and other school staff.

Called FASTER Saves Lives (Faculty/Administrator Safety Training & Emergency Response), the nonprofit program has to date provided high-level training to 2,000 teachers and staff members from 250 school districts in 15 states. This includes teachers and staff in 77 of Ohio’s 88 counties.

“The response from Ohio educators has been more enthusiastic than we could have ever imagined,” said Joe Eaton, FASTER Program Director.

“When we first announced that we planned to train teachers in armed response and emergency medical aid,” Eaton continued, “some people said teachers would never sign up. But within days of announcing the program, we had 600 apply for training. In weeks, it soared to over 1,000. Today we have over 3,000 faculty members from all over Ohio on our mailing list. And more are contacting us every day.”

The enthusiasm for this program has gone far beyond Ohio. School staff from six other states have attended FASTER training. In addition, instructors from as far away as Colorado have traveled to Ohio to see how the program works and take the idea back to their home state.

Created by concerned parents, law enforcement, and nationally-recognized safety and medical experts, FASTER is a groundbreaking, nonprofit program that gives educators practical violence response training.

The program is funded by Buckeye Firearms Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charitable educational organization based in Ohio and the sister organization to Buckeye Firearms Association. Classes can be provided at NO COST to school personnel or school districts. Restrictions apply.

The program presents a carefully-structured curriculum with over 30 hours of hands-on training over a 3-day class that exceeds the requirements of the Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy.

The purpose is not to replace police and EMT, but to allow teachers, administrators, and other personnel on-site to stop school violence rapidly and render medical aid immediately. It is a well-established fact that faster response to school shootings and other violence results in fewer lives lost.

Chad D. Baus served as Buckeye Firearms Association Secretary from 2013-2019. 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.

Related Article:

Another Ohio school moves to protect its students with armed staff members

Ohio Judge Rules Against Bloomberg-Funded Lawyers Trying to Stop Armed Teachers

You’ve no doubt heard about our victorious lawsuits against Columbus and Cincinnati over unconstitutional bump stock laws. But there’s another lawsuit we’ve been involved with recently that you probably know nothing about.

It’s called Gabbard v. Madison Local School District and it may be the most important firearm legal case in Ohio.

The case involves Bloomberg-funded Everytown for Gun Safety coming to Ohio and trying to prevent Madison Local Schools in Middletown from arming staff after completing our Foundation’s FASTER Saves Lives training. Both our Foundation and the FASTER program are mentioned in the suit, ostensibly brought by parents in the district who claim Ohio law requires more than 700 hours of peace officer training before staff can carry guns in schools.

While the Everytown attorneys maintain they are interested only in the safety of children, we believe the real goal is to shut down the FASTER program and set a legal precedent that would prevent teachers, or anyone else, from carrying firearms in schools unless they are police officers. Given that no school employee could ever be expected to complete that much training, and given the expense of hiring security or police officers, a loss in this case would essentially prevent nearly anyone from being armed in Ohio schools.

Upon the advice of our attorney, we have not reported on this case until now because, while the school district has their own attorneys, we had filed a Motion to Intervene in order to properly represent the facts about FASTER Saves Lives training. The judge denied our motion and subsequently ruled in favor of Madison Local Schools. So we are now free to report on this important case.


On January 29, 2013, then-Attorney General Mike DeWine issued a letter debunking claims made by Ohio School Board Association’s chief legal counsel regarding the legality of armed teachers. This week, Butler County Judge Charles Pater ruled the same.

Judge Pater’s ruling came in response to a lawsuit brought against the Madison, Ohio school district after the board of education decide to arm faculty to protect students. The suit was brought by parents who apparently would prefer their children remain unprotected in schools. The parents are receiving financial backing for the lawsuit by Michael Bloomberg’s Everytown for For Gun Safety.

In their suit, the parents made the same faulty arguments that DeWine debunked back in 2013 – namely that ORC 109.78, which says that no public or private educational institution is permitted to employ a person “who goes armed while on duty” unless the person has completed a basic peace-officer training program or has 20 years of active duty as a peace officer, applied to non-security personnel.

From Judge Pater’s comments, as reported by the Journal-News:

Pater said his reading of the statutes doesn’t require school staff to be treated as security personnel requiring 700-plus hours of peace officer training. “To read it in context it would easily be rational to say what this is talking about is a position — and it’s not designated as a security position, it’s not designated as a law enforcement position — but some position which encompasses carrying a firearm,” he said. “The position of custodian, of secretary, the position of teacher, the position of a school administrator … those positions as positions don’t encompass, don’t require carrying firearms.”

This is the same finding that DeWine found in 2013:

I do not believe that R.C. 109.78(D) applies to non-security personnel. Put simply, it is unlikely that the General Assembly intended this language to reach every school employee. Had they intended to do so, they would have simply said that no school may employ “any person who goes armed.” Instead, the General Assembly’s use of “special police officer, security guard, or other position” suggests that “other positions” applies to security personnel. Thus, a board of education or governing body of a school may give non-security personnel written authorization to carry a weapon onto the premises. R.C. 2923.122(D)(1)(a).

Two Madison teachers and an administrator took part in the Buckeye Firearms Foundation’s FASTER Saves Lives program last June, and a statement the Journal-News received from the superintendent indicates the school board has authorized 10 people to carry guns in school.

The argument by the Everytown lawyers is absurd on its face because Ohio Peace Officer Training includes topics such as law, driving a police car, writing reports, and other issues which have nothing to do with stopping an active killer. Ironically, the Ohio Peace Officer Training includes little to nothing about active killer tactics, which the FASTER program focuses on exclusively along with “stop the bleed” training for those with critical injuries.

Madison Schools have good reason to want armed staff: three years ago a classmate shot four students. This presented a wake up call to the district, showing yet again that no school is exempt from tragedy and failing to prepare for such incidents is irresponsible.

FASTER Saves Lives

In response to the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, which claimed the lives of 20 children and 6 adult staff members, Buckeye Firearms Foundation launched an emergency response training program here in Ohio for teachers, administrators, and other school staff.

Called FASTER Saves Lives (Faculty/Administrator Safety Training & Emergency Response), the nonprofit program has to date provided high-level training to 2,000 teachers and staff members from 250 school districts in 15 states. This includes teachers and staff in 77 of Ohio’s 88 counties.

“The response from Ohio educators has been more enthusiastic than we could have ever imagined,” said Joe Eaton, FASTER Program Director.

“When we first announced that we planned to train teachers in armed response and emergency medical aid,” Eaton continued, “some people said teachers would never sign up. But within days of announcing the program, we had 600 apply for training. In weeks, it soared to over 1,000. Today we have over 3,000 faculty members from all over Ohio on our mailing list. And more are contacting us every day.”

The enthusiasm for this program has gone far beyond Ohio. School staff from six other states have attended FASTER training. In addition, instructors from as far away as Colorado have traveled to Ohio to see how the program works and take the idea back to their home state.

Created by concerned parents, law enforcement, and nationally-recognized safety and medical experts, FASTER is a groundbreaking, nonprofit program that gives educators practical violence response training.

The program is funded by Buckeye Firearms Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charitable educational organization based in Ohio and the sister organization to Buckeye Firearms Association. Classes can be provided at NO COST to school personnel or school districts. Restrictions apply.

The program presents a carefully-structured curriculum with over 30 hours of hands-on training over a 3-day class that exceeds the requirements of the Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy.

The purpose is not to replace police and EMT, but to allow teachers, administrators, and other personnel on-site to stop school violence rapidly and render medical aid immediately. It is a well-established fact that faster response to school shootings and other violence results in fewer lives lost.

Chad D. Baus is the Buckeye Firearms Association Secretary and an NRA-certified firearms instructor. 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.

Judge confirms 2013 Attorney General opinion: Teachers don’t need police-level training to carry guns in schools

On January 29, 2013, then-Attorney General Mike DeWine issued a letter debunking claims made by Ohio School Board Association’s chief legal counsel regarding the legality of armed teachers. This week, Butler County Judge Charles Pater ruled the same.

Judge Pater’s ruling came in response to a lawsuit brought against the Madison, Ohio school district after the board of education decide to arm faculty to protect students, by parents who apparently would prefer their children remain unprotected in schools. The parents are receiving financial backing for the lawsuit by Michael Bloomberg’s Everytown for For Gun Safety.

In their suit, the parents made the same faulty arguments that DeWine debunked back in 2013 – namely that ORC 109.78, which says that no public or private educational institution is permitted to employ a person “who goes armed while on duty” unless the person has completed a basic peace-officer training program or has 20 years of active duty as a peace officer, applied to non-security personnel.

From Judge Pater’s comments, as reported by the Journal-News:

Pater said his reading of the statutes doesn’t require school staff to be treated as security personnel requiring 700-plus hours of peace officer training. “To read it in context it would easily be rational to say what this is talking about is a position — and it’s not designated as a security position, it’s not designated as a law enforcement position — but some position which encompasses carrying a firearm,” he said. “The position of custodian, of secretary, the position of teacher, the position of a school administrator … those positions as positions don’t encompass, don’t require carrying firearms.”

This is the same finding that DeWine found in 2013:

I do not believe that R.C. 109.78(D) applies to non-security personnel. Put simply, it is unlikely that the General Assembly intended this language to reach every school employee. Had they intended to do so, they would have simply said that no school may employ “any person who goes armed.” Instead, the General Assembly’s use of “special police officer, security guard, or other position” suggests that “other positions” applies to security personnel. Thus, a board of education or governing body of a school may give non-security personnel written authorization to carry a weapon onto the premises. R.C. 2923.122(D)(1)(a).

Two Madison teachers and an administrator took part in the Buckeye Firearms Foundation’s FASTER Saves Lives program last June, and a statement the Journal-News received from the superintendent indicates the school board has authorized 10 people to carry guns in school.

In response to the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, which claimed the lives of 20 children and 6 adult staff members, Buckeye Firearms Foundation launched an emergency response training program here in Ohio for teachers, administrators, and other school staff.

Called FASTER Saves Lives (Faculty/Administrator Safety Training & Emergency Response), the nonprofit program has to date provide high-level training to 2,000 teachers and staff members from 250 school districts in 15 states. This includes teachers and staff in 77 of Ohio’s 88 counties.

“The response from Ohio educators has been more enthusiastic than we could have ever imagined,” said Joe Eaton, FASTER Program Director.

“When we first announced that we planned to train teachers in armed response and emergency medical aid,” Eaton continued, “some people said teachers would never sign up. But within days of announcing the program, we had 600 apply for training. In weeks, it soared to over 1,000. Today we have over 3,000 faculty members from all over Ohio on our mailing list. And more are contacting us every day.”

The enthusiasm for this program has gone far beyond Ohio. School staff from six other states have attended FASTER training. In addition, instructors from as far away as Colorado have traveled to Ohio to see how the program works and take the idea back to their home state.

Created by concerned parents, law enforcement, and nationally-recognized safety and medical experts, FASTER is a groundbreaking, nonprofit program that gives educators practical violence response training.

The program is funded by Buckeye Firearms Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charitable educational organization based in Ohio and the sister organization to Buckeye Firearms Association. Classes can be provided at NO COST to school personnel or school districts. Restrictions apply.

The program presents a carefully-structured curriculum with over 30 hours of hands-on training over a 3-day class that exceeds the requirements of the Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy.

The purpose is not to replace police and EMT, but to allow teachers, administrators, and other personnel on-site to stop school violence rapidly and render medical aid immediately. It is a well-established fact that faster response to school shootings and other violence results in fewer lives lost.

Chad D. Baus is the Buckeye Firearms Association Secretary and an NRA-certified firearms instructor. 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.

Program Director Joe Eaton explains FASTER Saves Lives to Piers Morgan

On February 4, the British television station Channel 4 broadcast a documentary on Buckeye Firearms Foundation’s FASTER Saves Lives program. Unfortunately, the Channel 4 broadcast is only available for residents of the UK and Ireland.

Provokingly titled “Teachers Training to Kill,” the documentary got wide publicity throughout the UK the run-up to the broadcast, including articles in The Evening Standard, The Guardian, The Sun, Financial Times, RealityTitBit.com and many more.

Buckeye Firearms Association Director Joe Eaton serves as program director for the FASTER program, and was invited to appear live on “Good Morning Britain” with host Piers Morgan.

“Good Morning Britain” has posted an edited version of Eaton’s segment on Youtube.

Chad D. Baus is the Buckeye Firearms Association Secretary and an NRA-certified firearms instructor. 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.

Another Ohio school moves to protect its students with armed staff members

Maysville, KY’s The Ledger-Independent is reporting that an Adams County school district is the latest in Ohio to make plans allow teachers and other staff members to carry guns.

From the article:

After revealing the intent to arm school staff, Manchester Local Schools Superintendent Brian Rau posted answers to some frequently asked questions people may have with the situation in the school district’s February newsletter . To ensure the safety of students in the event of an active shooter situation, Rau said it is necessary to have someone ready to respond to the threat. Due to the lack of a police department in Manchester — the department was disbanded in 2017 — the Adams County Sheriff’s Office poses the only law enforcement agency to the town.

Rau told the newspaper that since he announced the decision to arm staff, the response has been somewhat positive to the notion, albeit with some still having some questions in regards to some logistical and ethical issues.

“The majority of people who have come to me have been positive,” he is quoted as saying.

Rau said in the newsletter that staff members will undergo training by the Tactical Defense Institute using the Faculty/Administrator Safety Training and Emergency Response Program, or FASTER, in West Union, Ohio, and that the program itself is strictly voluntary. According to Rau, the trainers, trainees and weapons will be identical to law enforcement. “Those individuals will train for several hours over the course of several days, and must pass this course; not everyone passes this course,” he said. “The training is extremely rigorous and is mentally and physically difficult.” A combination of Rau, a deputy from the Adams County Sheriff’s Office and the School Resource Officer will be responsible for evaluating volunteers and determining who will be sent to the TDI training. If a staff member shows that they are not mentally competent to carry a weapon, then they will not be allowed to do so. Training through TDI will be free, Rau said, with the Buckeye Firearms Association paying for five people to undergo the training. Despite the possibility for five people to take the training for free, Rau said he wants to be thorough in determining who is fit for the program. … To further supplement the information posted in the newsletter, Rau also said he will also be putting additional information about the FASTER program in the March newsletter.

Security-minded parents who live in places with differing philosophies at area schools may want to keep this in mind and consider open-enrolling in a school that is capable of providing immediate protection for their children.

In response to the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, which claimed the lives of 20 children and 6 adult staff members, Buckeye Firearms Foundation launched an emergency response training program here in Ohio for teachers, administrators, and other school staff.

Called FASTER Saves Lives (Faculty/Administrator Safety Training & Emergency Response), the nonprofit program has to date provide high-level training to 2,000 teachers and staff members from 250 school districts in 15 states. This includes teachers and staff in 77 of Ohio’s 88 counties.

“The response from Ohio educators has been more enthusiastic than we could have ever imagined,” said Joe Eaton, FASTER Program Director.

“When we first announced that we planned to train teachers in armed response and emergency medical aid,” Eaton continued, “some people said teachers would never sign up. But within days of announcing the program, we had 600 apply for training. In weeks, it soared to over 1,000. Today we have over 3,000 faculty members from all over Ohio on our mailing list. And more are contacting us every day.”

The enthusiasm for this program has gone far beyond Ohio. School staff from six other states have attended FASTER training. In addition, instructors from as far away as Colorado have traveled to Ohio to see how the program works and take the idea back to their home state.

Created by concerned parents, law enforcement, and nationally-recognized safety and medical experts, FASTER is a groundbreaking, nonprofit program that gives educators practical violence response training.

The program is funded by Buckeye Firearms Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charitable educational organization based in Ohio and the sister organization to Buckeye Firearms Association. Classes can be provided at NO COST to school personnel or school districts. Restrictions apply.

The program presents a carefully-structured curriculum with over 30 hours of hands-on training over a 3-day class that exceeds the requirements of the Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy.

The purpose is not to replace police and EMT, but to allow teachers, administrators, and other personnel on-site to stop school violence rapidly and render medical aid immediately. It is a well-established fact that faster response to school shootings and other violence results in fewer lives lost.

Chad D. Baus is the Buckeye Firearms Association Secretary and an NRA-certified firearms instructor. 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.

Headline: Parkland school shooting panel backs arming teachers, rips responding deputies

The 24-hour tv news mob didn’t scream it wall to wall for weeks like they did the attack itself, but credit to USA Today for reporting recently that a Florida investigative panel charged with studying the rampage that left 17 people dead at a Parkland high school last year has recommended arming teachers.

From the article:

The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission ;criticized the response of school staff and the Broward County Sheriff’s Office to the carnage Feb. 14. The commission’s 15 members issued a unanimously approved, 439-page preliminary report Wednesday aimed at preventing similar attacks and improving the response should they occur. The report and its recommendations were sent to the governor’s office and Legislature for consideration. “All stakeholders … should embrace the opportunity to change and make Florida schools the safest in the nation,” the report says. “There must be a sense of urgency – and there is not, across-the-board – in enhancing school safety.”

According to the article, Florida law allows districts to train and arm administrators and other staff. Teachers must have a military or police background to carry a firearm. USA Today reports the committee argued that teachers are often the first line of defense in school shootings and encouraged legislation to arm more of them.

The report recommends that the Legislature approve a measure that would allow teachers “properly selected, thoroughly screened and extensively trained to carry concealed firearms on campuses for self-protection, and the protection of other staff and students in response to an active assailant incident.”

In reality, the Safety Commissions report should come as no surprise. Anyone who gives half an effort at studying these killings will come to the same conclusion – the best chance we have at reducing the loss of life is a FASTER response – and the only way to make a big impact on reducing the response time is to make sure the people in the building have a real way to protect students.

According to the article, the Safety Commission ctiticized the Broward County school system and sheriff’s office as unprepared for the attack by a student who had been expelled from the school. Sheriff’s Deputy Scot Peterson, the school resource officer, was among deputies criticized for failing to immediately confront the attacker.

Sheriff Scott Israel was blamed for not requiring his force to confront active shooters. Israel told the commission he had eliminated the policy requiring deputies to confront active shooters because he didn’t want deputies charging into “suicide missions.”

Sheriff Israel was finally fired on January 11, less than two weeks after both the Safety Commission’s report, which followed a devastating Sun-Sentinel report on the sequence of events that day entitled “UNPREPARED AND OVERWHELMED.” (Warning: Don’t view “Unprepared and Overwhelmed” with any large objects within reach – you might feel the urge to throw something.)

There are no better reasons than these reports to fight knee-jerk reactions to quickly pass legislation immediately after an event before the facts are known. Law abiding gun owners were blamed for this attack – and are even now being punished – when the reports make clear where the fault really lies.

Chad D. Baus is the Buckeye Firearms Association Secretary and an NRA-certified firearms instructor. 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.

GQ Magazine features Buckeye Firearms Foundation’s FASTER Saves Lives program

Gun owners have a deep mistrust of the news media, and for good reason. But when it comes to protecting our kids, there are clear signs that a cultural shift is under way.

There could be no more clear example of this shift on the question of how to protect our kids in schools than a new article from GQ Magazine, entitled “When You Give a Teacher a Gun.”

Writer Jay Willis spent three days “embedded,” as he puts it, with a FASTER class held at Tactical Defense Institute.

The resulting article is well worth the read!

Chad D. Baus is the Buckeye Firearms Association Secretary and an NRA-certified firearms instructor. 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.

FASTER Saves Lives at OSBA conference

FASTER Saves Lives will have our booth at the Ohio School Board Association (OSBA) trade show next week in Columbus, Ohio. Jeff Staggs, Superintendent of Newcomerstown schools will be presenting on Sunday afternoon.

When: Sunday, November 11, 2018 at 1:00 pm.
Where: Columbus Convention Center, room A210-212
Subject: Myths about having your staff armed

Staggs is one of the most experienced superintendents in the state on this issue. His regular consolations with our nation's top experts on active killers, school staff and boards of education give him a unique perspective and base of knowledge. His presentations have filled to capacity in years past, so come early to make sure you can get in the door.

With the latest news of another active killer at the Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks, California, there is renewed interest in active killer events and how to stop them. Initial reports are the death toll is close that of the Columbine massacre, but these killings have become so routine that they are not even shocking anymore. There is no denying that active killings are a problem in our society. Everyone agrees there is a problem. The disagreement comes in finding solutions.

The booth is listed under “Buckeye Firearms Foundation” because the Foundation sponsors the FASTER Saves Lives program. We will be at booths 1123 and 1125 during show hours Monday and Tuesday.

This year we will have a wealth of experts on hand on hand to answer your questions. Most people don’t understand the basics of active killings. Those that want to solve a problem start by understanding the problem. Time is the most critical component in an active killing.

Come talk with experts on mindset, law-enforcement, shooting, medical, school policy and more.

Classes are already filling up for 2019. Grants are available, but like last year they will run out. Sign up early for the most savings. There are tax dollars available to all Ohio schools for safety, security to include mindset training and trauma treatment.

Schools have many important roles that far exceed the educational part of their job. In all the important work they do, safety is the all important job. Without safety, nothing else a school does matters.

The FASTER Saves Lives program is recognized nationally as being the best program for school safety. Has your school district implemented best practice for school safety? If not, make sure they stop by the FASTER Saves Lives booth and talk to the people who can show them how our program will work in their district.

Jim Irvine is the Buckeye Firearms Foundation President, BFA PAC Chairman and recipient of the NRA-ILA's 2011 “Jay M. Littlefield Volunteer of the Year Award,” the CCRKBA's 2012 “Gun Rights Defender of the Year Award,” and the SAF's 2015 “Defender of Freedom Award.