NEWS BLOG (WSAU)  In the wake of the Newtown shooting there are some who want to do something – and others who want to do something that will address the problem. If you appreciate the difference, you know that Wayne LaPierre’s proposal to put armed security in our schools is a more productive idea than proposals to ban certain types of weapons. Yet the proposal that might work has already been marginalized. The ideas that will be ultimately used as 2nd Amendment wedge issues will get a great deal of publicity.

Now consider this: I know of a place where almost all teachers have firearms training and all schools have a weapons arsenal. School attacks are virtually unheard of there.

It’s Israel.

Almost everyone is required to serve in the military in Israel, so everyone who is a native-born citizen has weapons-training. Armed security is universal in any public assembly area – schools, hospitals, sporting events, government offices.

Granted, Israel is a violent, militarized place. But there are no school attacks there. Why? Because the chance of a gunman successfully shooting up a school is low. Granted suicide bombers and missiles are the weapons of choice, and there are many, many other ‘soft targets’ – regional busses are the targets of gunmen and suicide bombers, even though many (but not all) that are guarded by armed security. But these are still lessons we should take to heart in the U.S. Make the schools a more difficult target, and many would-be evil-doers won’t even try.

I don’t think twice about seeing armed Green Bay police when I go to a Packers game. Nor is there anything out-of-the-ordinary to see armed security at airports, or banks, or several other public places. I don’t think there anything wrong with conditioning our children that there will be trained professionals with firearms in their schools. And we’ll be surprised at how accepting our kids will be when they’re told “it’s for your safety.”

Chris Conley
12.26.12