Armed Guards. Why are most security guards unarmed? Because they should be.
I do not show or glamorize weapons here. Better that we pray together.
Prevent, observe, report. My child will not go to a school armed by a guard.
Did you know that the normal wage for security guards is the minimum wage? So the only way for a guard to make a livable wage is to work much overtime. Many guards are new immigrants to the US. Many guards are retired people who need the extra income. There is generally no minimal education requirement to be a guard. There is only a few hours of training required to be a guard. Guards generally prevent incidents from occurring by simply being there and visible. Most guards are what are referred to as warm bodies. That means the only thing they have to do is be alive and present.
Most security guards can qualify for a license to carry a firearm. A license to carry a firearm is generally granted to any adult citizen unless they are disqualified by a previous wrongful act. A legal immigrant is automatically granted a weapon permit, because in this country they have no record at all so they cannot be disqualified. So why do they not carry a lethal weapon? Money. (keep in mind that today saw a 100$ million lawsuit filed) Insurance has to cover the weapon bearer. If a guard shoots someone, the guard is personally responsible. That is just the way it is. If a guard wants to be covered by insurance it generally costs more per month than the guard takes home. Then you have the insurance for the company that hired the guard. And then you have the insurance for the property where the guard is stationed.
Actually seeing a piece of metal blow through a skull is the worst thing I ever did see.
Probably the general public is not aware that the majority of guards are not working to protect people. Their job is to protect property from people. Lethal force is almost never justified for the protection of property. An insurance company in order to insure a guard whose duty it is to protect people would never want the guard armed, unless the guard was extremely well trained. For instance more than basic training and equivalent to an associate’s degree in public safety. Or a police academy graduate.
So the NRA says to arm guards at schools. Who is going to pay for the insurance? You are right it would be the citizens. Who is going to pay for the extra training and increased wages for the armed security guards? You would be right again, the citizens. Who would make the most money? Weapons dealers and insurance companies. And who would regulate such matters? More government. And who are two of the largest lobbyist groups in the world? Again you would be right, the arms dealers and the insurance companies
Let the sunset on this era of violence
Look it up in your state, are guards required to have a High School diploma or GED?
Private security companies are not non-profits. The way they make money is to pay out as little as possible for wages and expenses and to bring in as much as possible. They have almost no incentive to spend any money to do a better job. There is fierce competition and what competes the best is the lowest price. And that would happen in our schools if guards were armed. In high schools you would have armed people with less education than the unarmed AP seniors. A teacher would be unarmed and a fellow who is restricted English as a second language would be armed.
If arming guards is not the perfect storm for a perfect disaster I do not know what it is. Keep in mind that the killers that we are guarding against clearly will have access to military grade assault weaponry. Certainly the guard could only have a single action type of a handgun. That would be one shot at close range to protect an entire school. The average intelligence of a psychopath is over 120 on the IQ charts. Keep this in mind also; a high school student trained in martial arts, football or wrestling is more than likely much bigger, stronger, faster and aggressive than a security guard that has no training or exercise regimen. So if they want the security guards’ weapon what is to stop them? If they want to circumvent a location chip that is easy, drag the dead guard with you or maybe just his hand.
There are many things seriously wrong about the NRA proposal, but the most astounding will be if Americans buy it.