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

The Kenyon Collegian is reporting that another Ohio board of education has voted to authorize the arming of school staff members to decrease response time in the event of an active killer attack.

From the article:

The East Knox Board of Education passed a resolution this month that gives the superintendent the authority to allow staff members to carry weapons in school. The March 15 vote took place just over a month after 17 people were killed at a school shooting in Parkland, Fla. on Feb. 15.

East Knox Superintendent Steve Larcomb said the East Knox Board of Education has been considering a resolution to arm teachers since the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012.

According to the article, Larcomb estimated it would take a Knox County officer at least six minutes to respond to an incident at the East Knox schools, and the new policy would cut that time considerably.

Larcomb is also exploring the possibility of having school resource officers provided by the Knox County Sheriff’s Office.

Again, from the article:

Under the new resolution, Larcomb will decide who will be allowed to carry a weapon in school. To qualify, staff members must have a concealed-carry permit, and experience  handling firearms from hunting or military training. In addition, staff members will need to go through training with the Buckeye Firearms Association, a gun rights organization based in Columbus, OH that provides firearm training.

Meanwhile, it is reported that the nearby Mount Vernon City School District (MVCSD) Board of Education discussed the issue of school safety during their March 19 meeting, ultimately concluding they would not consider arming teachers.

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 nearly 1300 teachers and staff members from 225 school districts in 12 states. This includes teachers and staff in 76 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 nearly 2,000 faculty members from all over Ohio waiting in line for a chance to get this training. 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 thousands of small, individual donations to 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.

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.

Buckeye Firearms Association testifies in favor of bill to arm Maryland school staff

Last week I traveled to Maryland to testify before the House Judiciary Committee on House Bill 760 sponsored by Delegate (similar to a “Representative” in Ohio) Richard Impallaria (R). Chairman Joe Vallario (D) chaired the hearing for the annual “gun day” in which it hears all testimony on all gun bills before the committee.

I was there with Michele Speakman and John Rigney, who set up meetings and showed me around the oldest state house in America in continuous legislative use. It was an honor to be in the building of such historical significance. From the state brochure this is where, “General George Washington came before Congress to resign his commission as commander-in- chief of the Continental Army and the Treaty of Paris was ratified, marking the official end of the Revolutionary War.”

Committee convened promptly at 1:00 in the afternoon and ran for over 12 hours, ending slightly before 2 a.m. 36 bills were up for consideration. There were over 900 witnesses signed up, but some of those were counted twice as they were there to speak to multiple bills. There were about 500 people present, filling the hearing room, the overflow room, and the hallways.

Moms Demand Action was there in their red shirts. These ladies seemed very similar to the ones we have in Ohio. There were also many kids (someone said two bus loads.) The kids were definitely happy to be missing school, but most seemed more interested in their phones than the business of the legislature.

There were also hundreds of pro-freedom people in attendance. Some where there to testify on one bill of particular importance to them, others to testify on many bills, and others there to show support for the cause.

Rather than hold three separate hearings as we do in Ohio, Maryland legislators hears sponsor, proponent, and opponent testimony on the same day. They also do panels of witnesses, instead of each person testifying separately. I was on a panel with Delegate Impallaria and John Rigney.

After Delegate Impallaria gave his sponsor testimony, I gave my proponent testimony (see below), followed by John and his testimony. Because of the number of witnesses, we are limited to two minutes each. (The Chair can extend time at his discretion.)

After our prepared statements the committee began asking questions of the three of us. As is normal, some committee members were supportive, and others were opposed to the idea of armed school staff. No matter how a Delegate felt about the bill, every question asked was good because it fostered a better understanding of the issues at hand. Being pro-gun or anti-gun does not matter when everyone puts the safety of the children first.

Delegate Impallaria, Mr. Rigney and I each answered questions from our perspective. Because we received many questions, our panel seemed to be up there for over 30 minutes, which was longer than any other panel I witnessed during the day. Several Delegates asked for contact information after we testified, so that they could follow up with us. Overall, I think we did a good job presenting the concept and answering questions for the committee.

Other panels followed us, some of which included Shannon Alford with the NRA-ILA, Mike Doherty of Maryland State Rifle and Pistol Association, Mark Pennak of Maryland Shall Issue and many others. Each witness did a good job presenting their perspective and answering questions when asked.

Then came those opposed which included ATF Maryland, Baltimore Teachers Union, Maryland Association of Boards of Education, Public School Superintendents’ Association of Maryland, NAACP and many others.

While each professional witness was professional and explained why they don’t want to participate, none of them made a good case as to why others should be prohibited from following the advice of experts to make their individual school safer.

Several kids noted that they would not “feel safe” with armed staff. That is understandable, but it more important than “feeling safe” is “being safe.” Policy should be set based on facts and realities, not feelings and hypothetical ideas.

One other bill that received considerable attention was HB 991, which would have banned normal capacity magazines (over 10 rounds). Many witnesses opposed to the bill raised a series of questions about how the bill would work or why it is good policy. Lacking good answers, the bill’s sponsor withdrew the bill to cheers from the gallery.

It was great to see that even in a state like Maryland that is generally hostile toward the Second Amendment and firearms use, many Delegates are interested in passing good legislation that will result in good policy without bad unintended consequences.

Jim Irvine is Board President of Buckeye Firearms Association. He is also 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.”

Following is testimony presented at the hearing by Mr. Irvine:

Good afternoon Chairman Vallario, Vice-Chair Dumias, and members of the House of Delegates Judiciary Committee.

My name is Jim Irvine and I speak today in support of the language and concept of House Bill 760.

The unfortunate reality today is that school violence is a problem for our country. The “no bullying” and “no violence” policies have not ended these problems. Too many of our children have died and we must change our policies to do a better job protecting them.

Active killers often target children in our schools. They are attractive because they are “safe” locations for a coward to commit such crimes.

Police alone are not the answer. They can’t be. The timeline of typical events makes it impossible for outside help to respond in time. Just as we use AEDs and epi-pins to keep people alive until traditional first responders can arrive, schools should have armed staff and trauma equipment for the same reason.

Schools are legally and morally responsible for the lives of our children. School massacres are foreseeable events. There must be policies in place to deal with these events. Schools should have a way to stop a killer who is inside the building about to enter a classroom of children. Armed personal have proven to be the most reliable means of stopping a killer.

Through the FASTER Saves Lives program, we have trained 1,300 school staff in over 200 districts in 12 states, including Maryland. The program was designed by John Benner of Tactical Defense Institute who is our nation’s premiere expert on this topic, especially as it relates to schools. Training includes mindset, shooting, force on force, Law enforcement qualification (to a higher standard) and medical. The methods taught have proven to be effective both at ending violence and treating injured.

House Bill 760 would allow schools to implement best practice by selecting the best people, having them attend the best training, and using proven methods to stop a killer and treat injured kids before outside help can respond. It will result in safer schools by adding critical layers of protection for our most precious resource, your children. Our methods have saved lives in Ohio and will here too.

This local control is critical to allowing schools to implement the safest and most effective safety and security programs. Each district knows it staff, schools and communities better than anyone else. They need the ability to adjust, improve and alter their programs in a proactive way to meet changing conditions.

After House Bill 760 is enacted, we look forward to training more of your school staff and your law enforcement trainers. More than a 3-day class, we offer a 3-year curriculum. The goal is to foster working and training relationships between your local law enforcement and your schools. By training together now, they will be able to excel together on event day making the safest possible schools for your children. That is something that everyone should support.

Attachments: Brochure, White paper, DVD, Wrist bands

Researchers: Schools are safer than they were in the 90s, and school shootings are not more common than they used to be

by Allie Nicodemo and Lia Petronio

The deadly school shooting (last) month in Parkland, Florida, has ignited national outrage and calls for action on gun reform. But while certain policies may help decrease gun violence in general, it’s unlikely that any of them will prevent mass school shootings, according to James Alan Fox, the Lipman Family Professor of Criminology, Law, and Public Policy at Northeastern.

Since 1996, there have been 16 multiple victim shootings in schools, or incidents involving 4 or more victims and at least 2 deaths by firearms, excluding the assailant.

Of these, 8 are mass shootings, or incidents involving 4 or more deaths, excluding the assailant.

“This is not an epidemic”

Mass school shootings are incredibly rare events. In research publishing later this year, Fox and doctoral student Emma Fridel found that on average, mass murders occur between 20 and 30 times per year, and about one of those incidents on average takes place at a school.

Their research also finds that shooting incidents involving students have been declining since the 1990s.

Four times the number of children were killed in schools in the early 1990s than today, Fox said.

Click here to read the entire article at news.northeastern.edu.

Cleveland PBS: Ohio Program Provides Training for Teachers Who Want to Conceal and Carry

The mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, has renewed the debate over whether teachers and other school personnel should be armed. Although the policy discussion continues, Ohio teachers already can take classes to learn how to defend themselves and their students if a threat arises. The Buckeye Firearms Foundation provides free training to teachers through the FASTER Program — Faculty / Administrator Safety Training & Emergency Response. Michelle and Chris Cerino, two of the program's trainers, join ideastream's Rick Jackson to talk about FASTER training and how one graduate of the program had to use it in a real-life situation.

“My school’s an easy target”

On February 20, a 13 year-old seventh-grader in Jackson Twp., OH boarded a school bus concealing a .22 rifle.

The Jackson Memorial Middle School student had been writing a school “attack” plan, inspired in part by the mass murder in a Parkland, FL high school just six days before. (His writing shows he had been thinking of attacking his school for a few months, but actively planning for only a few weeks.)

His written plans reveal that he had the glorification that the media give school shooters fully in mind, and that he knew his school was defenseless.

I want to leave a lasting impression on the world. I'm going to die doing it.”

“When they interview my parents and ask how they didn’t see the signs, they should know it’s not them, it’s me and it’s because of how I see the world. I’d hurt and destroy something bigger but my school’s an easy target.”

From the Akron Beacon-Journal:

“I’ll look in to those scared little britches’ [sic] eyes before I kill them,” he wrote Feb. 17, invoking the names of the two Columbine High School shooters, but botching the spelling of one of their names.

“Now I’ll have followers because I’m so awesome,” he wrote. “I know someone will follow me just like I followed [the Columbine shooters]. … They say school shootings are horrible but they don’t think like us, like me and [the Columbine shooters].”

[The armed boy] knew he was going to die, he wrote, promising the attack “will be bigger than anything this country’s ever seen.”

“I will never be forgotten. I’ll be a stain in American history and the Simons’ history, it’s going to be so mutch [sic] fun,” he wrote. “They won’t expect a thing.”

Police said the boy carried about 80 rounds of ammunition that fit the .22 rifle he smuggled into school that day. He passed teachers and classmates and even ran into another boy who was using the restroom when [the armed boy] entered with his rifle.

From the Akron Beacon-Journal:

[]nvestigators’ timeline of the minutes leading up to the shooting reveals that [the armed boy] had started to launch his attack plan.

It began, police said, when [the armed boy] left home about 7:10 a.m. Feb. 20 and walked with a noticeable limp to a nearby bus stop.

He had a .22-caliber rifle hidden under his clothes, possibly in the leg of his pants, police said. But if anyone was suspicious, no one spoke up.

The bus pulled up to the middle school about 7:44 a.m. and [the armed boy] limped inside, heading directly to a boys’ restroom, where another boy was already inside.

Besides the rifle hidden in his clothes, [the armed boy] carried a backpack into the bathroom that held about 80 rounds of ammunition and an assortment of fireworks, batteries and an aerosol can.

Police said [the armed boy] believed he could make an explosive device, but bomb experts said he didn’t have what he needed.

[A} few minutes later, school security cameras shows [the armed boy] re-emerging from the bathroom alone — this time carrying a long, black rifle in his hands.

At least four students were in the area outside the bathroom, and none appeared to notice [the armed boy] or the gun.

The cameras showed the boy who was in the restroom at the same time as [the armed boy] exiting next.

Police said he saw the rifle — either inside the bathroom or in the hall — and went to tell teachers.

For unknown reasons, the boy returned to the restroom and shot himself to death.

This boy's writings confirm three things people in the gun rights community have long been warning:

“Now I’ll have followers because I’m so awesome”

Media glamorization of these killers serves to inspire others. Write your local media and demand that they stop feeding this cycle by using the names and pictures of these killers. Stop reading, watching, buying or sharing ones that do.

“My school's an easy target.”

Persons looking for a body count choose places where they know people can't fight back. Is YOUR child or grandchild's school an easy target? What are you doing about it?

“He had a .22-caliber rifle.”

They can seek to ban all the AR-15s they want, and attackers intent on committing murder will simply chose a different weapon. The problem is people.

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 board goes public: Armed, trained staff members already in place!

The Superintendent of Noble Local Schools in Noble County, Ohio has made the choice to go public with a part of their safety plan. From a post to the school Facebook page:

“We are NOT soft targets!”

Given the recent school shootings across the country, with the most recent occurring just last week in Florida, I hope this information serves as a reminder of the many things we have done in the NLSD to increase safety and security, including, but not limited to, permitting trained staff members to be armed throughout the day.

The NLSD Board of Education adopted policies and procedures for certain, trained staff members to be “armed” while at school. The Board approved these policies and procedures in August 2017 and was implemented beginning with the 2017-18 school year. Noble Local currently has 11-trained staff members who meet and maintain requirements established in law, and through our local safety committee, to conceal and carry while present on campus. We currently have plans to train 4-5 additional staff members this summer prior to the start of the 18-19 school year.

Among many requirements, qualified staff members must hold a valid Ohio CCW license, successfully completed a minimum of 24 hours of Active Shooter Training through the “FASTER SAVES LIVES” program (Faculty Administrator Safety Training and Emergency Response), possess a notarized handgun qualification certificate, and must have had mental preparation in the response to active shooters/killers.

On Monday night, the East Guernsey Local Board of Education in Guernsey County took action to incorporate armed, trained staff members into their safety plan.

In Streetsboro, the mayor is proposing a school levy that would place two armed guards inside every school in the district.

In Wayne County, Sheriff Travis Hutchinson's office used their Daily Update video brief to detail why they advocate for armed teachers and/or staff in the school.

In Butler Co., Ohio, Sheriff Rick Jones has made international news after calling for armed teachers in schools, and then advertising a free class for them to get concealed handgun license training. In less than 48 hours, more than 300 teachers applied for 50 available seats.

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 nearly 1300 teachers and staff members from 225 school districts in 12 states. This includes teachers and staff in 76 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 nearly 2,000 faculty members from all over Ohio waiting in line for a chance to get this training. 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 thousands of small, individual donations to 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.

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.

Another Ohio school board votes to incorporate armed, trained staff members into safety plan

The Columbus Dispatch is reporting that members of the East Guernsey Local Board of Education in Guernsey County took action Monday night that they hope will secure added safety for the children of the district.

After a two-hour executive session, the board unanimously adopted a resolution authorizing the arming of select members of the staff.

More specifically, the board agreed to provide “written authorization for certain persons designated by the superintendent to convey deadly weapons or dangerous ordnance in a school safety zone, or to possess a deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance in a school safety zone of the East Guernsey Local School District.”

In order to be an armed staff member, he or she must be permitted under Ohio law to carry a concealed handgun.

Additionally, the staff member must undergo tactical training and re-certify annually.

Meanwhile, in Butler Co., Ohio, Sheriff Rick Jones is making international news after calling for armed teachers in schools, and then advertising a free class for them to get concealed handgun license training. In less than 48 hours, more than 300 teachers applied for 50 available seats.

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 nearly 1300 teachers and staff members from 225 school districts in 12 states. This includes teachers and staff in 76 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 nearly 2,000 faculty members from all over Ohio waiting in line for a chance to get this training. 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 thousands of small, individual donations to 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.

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.

Think nothing has been done in the wake of recent mass shootings? Think again!

by Ken Hanson

I typically have a personal policy of not talking about shooting incidents as they happen. Anyone who's making political points off the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL is dancing in the blood of children.

But since the various mom groups, bought and paid for by Michael Bloomberg and George Soros, do not feel the same, I'm going to comment today.

I've been writing about school shootings for nearly 20 years. You can Google that. Solid fact.

There is a segment of society that just does not think the same way that you and I do. They don't have the same moral values or inhibitions. Call it video games, call it single parenting, whatever. The cat is out of the bag, scratched on Pandora's Box until it opened, and then they went to the barn and slammed the door shut long after the horse left. Abuse your favorite metaphor here.

You are not going to put words on a piece of paper, post a sign, have a feel-good participation award or self-esteem program that's going to address this. We have 3rd graders sitting on the bus in the morning on their iPhones trying to get bonus points for knife-killing zombies or killstreaks. That isn't going to change.

I routinely lecture at self-defense classes on self-defense laws. And I often get the questions…

You just need to understand there are people out there that don't think like us. All of the good thinking, the fuzzy thoughts, the words on the papers, the signs aren't going to change that. So either deal with the reality or deal with the fantasy world.

As for me and my house, we will deal with reality.

At least once a month I have a group of early childhood educators in concealed carry classes. They invariably want to make sure that their identities are not released. They're scared to death that their employers will find out. But they've made the personal decision that they understand the reality of the situation.

A little over 5 years ago – December of 2012 to be exact – I was watching yet another news account of a school shooting, and watching yet more politicians propose worthless and ineffective measures in the week of burying our school children. I picked up the phone and called Jim Irvine, president of Buckeye Firearms Association. And I just simply said, “Jim, I'm sick of talking about this, let's just do something. Do you think we can raise $25,000 to provide no-expense firearms training to school teachers that choose this option?” If there's one thing airline pilots do not lack, it's confidence. Jim said “Go ahead and make the announcement, I will find the money.”

I was on a nationally-broadcasted ABC Town Hall that night and announced a program providing teachers cost-free training and tools if they choose to do so. Over 1,000 applied for those first 20 seats.

Ask any of the various Soros / Bloomberg mom groups how many emergency trauma kits they provided to schools cost-free? How much they've spent providing gun safes to parents for free in a partnership with children's hospitals and pediatricians? How much gun safety training have they provided? What have they raised and spent on our teachers, who are the true first responders?

Our answer is over 7 figures, over 1000 teachers and five different states. Go look at the Soros / Bloomberg websites and try to find any resource for teachers other than words on paper. You won't find it.

Gun owners are not the NRA. And anyone shaking a stick at the NRA right now is simply attacking a boogeyman by proxy. The NRA is a convenient target.

The real gun owners – the people sitting next to you at lunch, the people coaching your kids on the soccer field, maybe even your K through 3 school teacher – they're out there and they're not drinking the Kool-Aid. They understand the reality and not the fantasy.

We are addressing the problem. Get out of our way.

Ken Hanson is a long-time Buckeye Firearms Association volunteer, receipient of the NRA-ILA Presents Defender of Justice Lifetime Achievement Award and author of “The Ohio Guide to Firearm Laws.”

Another Tragedy – Another Blame Game

by Jim Shepherd

With news of [Wednesday]’s tragedy in Broward County, Florida we’re reeling -again- over the senseless slaughter of at least seventeen people. This time the tragedy is in Parkland, Florida, population 31,000.

Again, the killer appears to be another angry teen. One expelled from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School for “disciplinary reasons”.

Again, preliminary investigations are starting to point to another disturbed person whose intent may have been obvious to anyone who cared to look – or say something if they had.

After investigating the “digital profile” of 19-year-old Nikolaus Cruz the suspect in custody, Broward County Sheriff Department officials say what they’ve found is “very, very disturbing.”

Last year, Parkland was named Florida’s safest city by the National Council for Home Safety and Security. According to the stats, Parkland had seven reported violent crimes and 186 property crimes last year.

Parkland sounds like the city you’d search for if you wanted a safe place to raise a family. In fact, Parkland sounds reminiscent of a peaceful little community in Connecticut that is still trying to recover from a school massacre.

Parkland, like Newtown, Connecticut, seemed like one of those islands of sanity in a sea of crazy-until yesterday.

One of my best friends called me yesterday, asking me if there were anything we -meaning the industry- could “do” to help prevent these situations.

Instead of getting angry over the inference that the industry was somehow condoning these crazies, I explained the industry wasn’t the cause of these kinds of irrational acts, but had been “doing something” to try and help for years.

The NSSF and the ATF have Operation Secure Store, a program for federal firearms dealers to better secure their inventories and prevent thefts. The NSSF took the big step of addressing the problem of suicide- and has worked to help people identify signs of instability before they become tragedies.

Gun companies have given away millions of gun locks, pushed programs to teach safe firearms storage, and there’s no one in the industry who doesn’t champion the fact that firearms ownership comes with a responsibility to make certain that your guns are secure.

But crazy people still get access to them – and use them for heinous crimes.

Does that make us – the industry – responsible?

No.

But it does mean we must keep pushing for politicians and health care providers to deal with a core problem – mental illness – temporary or long-term.

Guns, any way you dissect it, are not the problem. But we can’t stop with explaining that- we must push for substantive measures to address the real issues.

The blood dancing will begin again…and once again, the industry will be blamed for -something.

Unfortunately, there are no easy answers for these kinds of questions.

That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be looking to see where we can help – and pushing for action.

Republished from The Outdoor Wire.

News organization removes web data on school safety plans after FasterSavesLives.org article

On Wednesday, December 13, FasterSavesLives.org published an article addressing a concern about northeast Ohio PBS conglomerate IdeaStream.org's decision to publish a list of schools in Ohio that may or may not have armed staff.

While the document had been in the public domain on a heavily-trafficked website since June 1, FASTER had previously chosen not to draw attention to it previously out of concern for how the information might be used by someone who might be intent on harm. We chose instead to reach out to IdeaStream and urge them to remove the document.

However, after months of waiting with no response to email or phone messages, and in view of our knowledge that at least some of the information had since become incorrect or out-of-date, we decided to alert our readers and encourage them to make contact with IdeaStream.

We are pleased to report that, one week after our article was published, Ideastream has responded and notified us of their decision to remove the information from the website.

Subject: In Response to Your Inquiry About ideastream's FASTER Story
From: Simpson, Mark
Date: Wed, December 20, 2017 1:52 pm
To: Jim Irvine

Dear Mr. Irvine,

Thank you so very much for your thoughtful email dated July, 23rd this past year. I only recently became aware of your communication with our Associate Editor for News, Annie Wu about her story on the FASTER firearms training program. I am sorry a reply to your message has been much delayed.

I am writing to inform you that as ideastream crafted its reporting around the FASTER program, the intent was to provide thoughtful information. Upon consideration, based in part on your observations, ideastream is withdrawing information from its website related to specific school district’s responses to a survey about use of concealed carry weapons practices.

Thank you for bringing this to the attention of ideastream. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have further questions.

Sincerely,
Mark H. Simpson
Managing Editor, News, ideastream

We are thankful to IdeaStream for their original articles (read Part 1 and Part 2) on the Faster Saves Lives program, and for putting the safety of our school kids first by removing information from their website which exposed more than two hundred Ohio schools' lack of armed staff.

Unfortunately, IdeaStream isn't the only news organization to have been given this type of information from schools upon request. One day after our article on the IdeaStream situation ran, Michael Bloomberg's anti-gun rights website TheTrace.com published an article entitled “Five Years After Sandy Hook, Push to Bring Guns Into Ohio Schools Gains Strength,” which stated as follows:

The Trace emailed every school superintendent in Ohio and received responses from more than 50. All but five said they still don’t allow anyone who isn’t a member of law enforcement — not school safety officers or staff — to carry guns in schools.

Fortunately, The Trace has thus far chosen not to publish which schools chose to release this sensitive information.

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.