A school district in Ohio, located in a very small town with a population of only 560 people has decided to respond to the rash of recent school shootings we’ve seen in recent days, months, heck even years, by instituting a new plan to keep students safe. It’s one that is guaranteed to stir some controversy, but honestly, I think it’s a fantastic idea.
They’ve decided to allow teachers to be armed. Yes, folks, this is the way. If only more school districts in this country realized this and took serious action to deter future shooters from choosing to take this horrific course of action. Contrary to what the left wants you to believe, good guys with guns stop bad guys all the time.
“River Valley Local School District in Caledonia, which has roughly 2,000 students from around the area, citing a law signed by Governor Mike DeWine in June 2022, said it will allow staff members in its high school, middle school, Heritage, and Liberty elementary schools to arm themselves,” the Daily Wire reported.
“Our schools will no longer be soft targets and unprotected,” Superintendent Adam Wickham went on to say during a conversation with The Marion Star. “Most active-shooter events occur in areas of ‘gun-free zones’ or with minimal safety measures in place. We want to ensure our schools will not be soft targets.”
“As a rural community, response times can often be minutes away in the event of an active shooter,” he added. “The use of armed staff in our buildings can potentially save lives by providing a more immediate response to the threat. Recent school shootings such as in Nashville, Uvalde (Texas), and Parkland (Florida) clearly show that the quicker the response time, the more likely you are to potentially save lives.”
Wickham then pointed out that the River Valley Local School policy has stringent training than state requirements, making the point they are taking the safety of teachers and students very seriously.
The legislation that was signed by Gov. Mike DeWine, House Bill 99, says that it “allows the previous practice of permitting school boards to choose to arm specific staff members and mandates reasonable training requirements for those individuals.”
“Some have expressed questions about the training and selection process,” Wickham stated concerning the policy. “The vast majority of parents have expressed appreciation for the proactive approach in protecting their children. That is really a main reason for adopting the use of armed staff. While we understand not everyone will support this program, every safety measure we take at River Valley, including the use of armed staff, is put in place to try and ensure our staff and students can go home safely to their families and loved ones, each and every day.”
“The River Valley Board had previously approved the use of armed staff for the 2020-21 school year,” Wickham concluded. “At that time the use of armed staff for the 2020-21 school year was confidential as protected by Ohio law, as part of the district’s safety plan. School districts had to suspend the use of armed staff with the Ohio Supreme Court’s ruling in the summer of 2021. Once HB 99 was passed, training details were released by the state in December of 2022, I recommended to the board resuming this program and the board approved the use of armed staff at the Jan. 12, 2023, meeting.”
This is one of many reasons the Second Amendment exists. To fight tyranny. And tyranny comes in many forms. When someone is attempting to deprive you of your right to life through the act of murder, that is tyranny. Not necessarily tyranny by a government, but by another fellow citizen. But you still have the right to use a gun to defend your life. That doesn’t change. Let’s hope more schools follow this district’s lead and protect the lives of our children.
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