While there are plenty of Catholic gun owners out there, the Catholic Church as an institution tends to take a dim view of armed self-defense. That may be changing, at least here in the United States if not the Vatican itself.
In the wake of the shooting at a Minneapolis church that took the lives of two children and resulted in injuries to 21 other people (including 18 students), some Catholic schools are now adding an armed presence on campus; in some cases security teams, but in others allowing for armed staff to serve as a first line of defense in case of an attack on school grounds, albeit in an informal capacity.
An independent Catholic school in the South that wishes to remain unnamed told CNA that after extensive discussion about campus security, administrators arrived at an “informal” security policy that involves armed staff.
“We’re pretty sure some of the teachers have guns in their cars,” an administrator told CNA.
When asked whether teachers were also carrying concealed weapons, the administrator said he does not know, and the school has “never said yes or no” to the practice.
Because of the “high quality of the teachers” at the school, the administrator said the leadership “came to the conclusion that the teachers would go after a guy with a gun rather than run away.” The school would “call the police and then the teachers with weapons would use … deadly force” if necessary to protect students.
“We’re willing to bet that would be a sufficient response,” he said.
No offense to this administrator, but this “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy isn’t a great way to ensure student safety. First off, you want these staffers to have immediate access to their firearms. If someone enters the school and starts shooting, these teachers might not be able to leave the building, run to their car, grab their firearm, and then run back inside. Those guns need to be on their person or in a secured location where they can easily get to them in case of trouble.
There needs to be a clear policy that allows for these educators to carry on the clock, and while parents and students don’t need to know who’s doing so, the school administrators should be aware of who is carrying. Ideally those individuals would have had some prior and ongoing contact with local law enforcement, so everybody’s on the same page if an attack takes place.
It may be that the school administration believes that a formal policy would invite criticism and controversy, and that may very well be the case. But if they truly think that having an armed presence on campus is a good idea, they should stick to their guns (both literally and figuratively) and bring this policy out into the sunlight so that it can be implemented in the best manner possible.
The Diocese of Buffalo, meanwhile, is bringing in outside armed security to each of the 29 elementary schools it operates, a move which has also generated consternation among some parents.
Parents’ reactions have been mixed. Marc Bruno, a longtime Buffalo public school teacher, called the move “a necessary step.”
“No one wants to see guns in the schools,” he told local ABC news station WKBW. However, he continued, “if you look at some of the previous shootings, principals have thrown their bodies at the gunman, and you know, our bodies don’t stand a chance against a bullet.”
One mother opposed the move, saying having armed security guards will put “children’s lives in danger.” She said she will not continue sending her child to school with armed guards present, emphasizing that her child “isn’t allowed to have peanut butter in his classroom to protect kids, but you want a stranger strolling the halls with a gun?”
All the more reason to have trained, vetted staffers, quite frankly. That mom, however, could also show up at school and talk to those security guards so they’re not strangers. Bring them some cookies (peanut butter-free, naturally) or just extend a hand in welcome, but have a conversation with them before yeeting your kid out of school.
I’m glad to see that some Catholic schools are now taking security more seriously. I just wish the topic of armed school staff wasn’t so taboo, because they, along with dedicated school resource officers, are the best way to stop an attack on campus as quickly as possible.
Editor’s Note: The radical left will stop at nothing to enact their anti-gun agenda and strip us of our Second Amendment rights.
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