It probably sounds a bit cynical, but at this point, most sensible people have lost hope that anything at all will be done to prevent school shootings like the one that happened at Robb Elementary School this week (and the nearly 300 other school shootings that have happened in the US since 2009). Sadly, money talks, and until that ceases to be the case, legislation to protect children from gun violence. That point is driven home even more once you watch Fox News, where a guest recently suggested that “ballistic blankets” might be a good way to keep kids safe in their places of learning.
Fox guest suggests purchasing “ballistic blankets” for children instead of toys and games. pic.twitter.com/whZymnfmq2
— nikki mccann ramÃrez (@NikkiMcR) May 24, 2022
- The suggestion came from a former FBI agent. Appearing on the conservative news network to discuss the events in Ulvade, Maureen O’Connell suggested that schools might take student safety into their own hands and begin investing in “ballistic blankets” and other equipment.
- O’Connell wants a “national push” in safety initiatives. While the biggest, most obvious safety initiatives would be gun control legislation, O’Connell’s not interested in logic. Instead, she suggests: “This is just beyond shocking. I would like to see a national push. Instead of parents buying their kids all these tools and toys and games, invest in the classroom to make it safer. There are companies out there that will do that, they will come out and do threat assessment of the whole school. They will say, ‘This is an area of vulnerability you might want to address and this is how we would address it.'”
- Her suggestions didn’t end there. O’Connell went on to give more specific suggestions. “They have blankets you can put up on the wall that are colorful and beautiful, but they are ballistic blankets. There are ways to obscure the classroom windows so that the shooter can’t have target acquisition,” she said. “There are just a million tools out there and we have been banging this drum for years. Let’s start investing in our kids and the safety of our children.” Wouldn’t the biggest way to invest in the safety of the children be legislating guns?
- O’Connell’s not the only nutso here. Texas Senator Ted Cruz and state attorney general Ken Paxton believe that sending officers with guns or even giving guns to teachers could be the answer. Even MORE guns in schools? What could go wrong? Paxton told Newsmax that schools can make it “more difficult for people even to get in that point of entry,” by having “teachers and other administrators who have gone through training and who are armed.” He continued: “First responders typically can’t get there in time to prevent a shooting. It’s just not possible unless they have a police officer on camera on every campus, which for a lot of these schools is almost impossible.”
