Our cash strapped schools are spending more money but not on books or improving facilities or paying teachers properly. No they are spending it on security because after the Newton shooting parents and administrators are worried. Security companies and the gun industry, always happy to increase their profit margin, are thrilled.
Unfortunately, this is like putting a band-aid on arterial bleeding. It will only stem the flow for a millisecond before the deluge continues and the patients dies. So instead of dealing with the REAL societal, albeit difficult, issues of improving our mental health services, improving gun safety through rational and effective regulation, and targeted training programs we are just going to give a ton of money to the band-aid of more supposed “security” and more guns.
No wonder this country is in trouble. We can only focus on any issue for about five minutes and we are a chicken shits when it comes to dealing with difficult societal issues. We only make necessary changes when forced (e.g., Civil War and Emancipation Proclamation, Civil Rights movement, Suffragette Movement, etc, etc, etc).
Ms. D. Ranged In AZ 
I agree that hiring security at schools treats the symptom to a much larger problem, but I don’t think we should forsake the treatment. There should be, imho, a resource officer from the local police department at every school. I think it’s reasonable and needed given recent tragedies. Treatment of the symptom should be simultaneous with real solutions for the root problems. I don’t give 3 f#%€s about the NRA, would describe myself as progressive liberal, however, I do recognize that the best way to stop the “bad” person with a gun is to have ready a “good” person with a gun; and that’s what I want in my children’s school…someone who can actually shoot back. Again, solutions for the creation of nuts needs to be implemented but meanwhile mitigation of the nuts created must not be futile.
I respect your opinion but I strongly disagree that having anyone on school campuses with weapons makes the kids safer. I’ve addressed this issue in depth before here: https://drangedinaz.wordpress.com/2012/12/17/when-tears-arent-enough/
As a former law enforcement officer, holder of a Masters Degree in Criminal Justice, and a trained gun owner I feel very strongly about this issue. I know what it takes for an armed good guy to handle a shoot out with terrified victims all around you, I can confidently say that the only people who MIGHT be able to handle a mass shooting situation would someone with special forces training and even then there are so many things that could and would go wrong. We see errors in police shootings every day. So should we get someone with special forces training for every school? It’s not logistically possible. IF it would help to have an officer or armed security guard at schools I would support it. I’m telling you from an expert’s view, it has never helped before and will never help in the future. The money is almost a side issue but it is important to keep in mind that the level of security that would be needed, we simply don’t have in spite of the fact that we’re the richest nation in the world.
You are absolutely right about the poor accuracy that police officers have in firing their weapons in the heat of the moment, but I still want one in every school. Their presence makes no guarantee of safety, but it is a deterrent and gives a fighting chance instead of submission to slaughter.
I am no expert, hell this isn’t even my passion topic of reproductive rights or healthcare for all, but I have thought about this and looked at the evidence. My husband and I are Army veterans, I am a nurse, he is a police officer…our expert is Lt. Col. Dave Grossman (http://www.killology.com/bio.htm). And he advocates for police officers at schools (http://www.killology.com/school_notes_preventing_violence.htm) And I’m not interested in going tit for tat for every detail, but I am interested in what solution you propose for mitigating the problem at schools now…today. I ask this genuinely and with sincerity, not to antagonize and spite you or any one else. Your argument has been that only people truly trained for “mass shootings” should be employed in that capacity, (eg ex navy seal, ranger, etc.) which you concede is not feasible. So then what? Nothing? You can’t have the Lexus so you’d rather go without a car? You can’t have the Johns Hopkins trained physician so you’d rather not have a physician? This logic is not sound. And a ban on AR-15, doesn’t count because that is a long term solution (which imho, is worth as much as a fart in the wind). I couldn’t see the story about US having the worse mass shootings in last 50 yrs ,but I have seen this guy who looks like a tree-huggin nerd and what he reveals to be a significant decrease in violent crimes in the US. (and I can say tree-huggin nerd because I am one too) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ko0WgNjONIA&feature=share&list=FLctltgFZufKFBsYPLACgmRA)
I respect your opinion, we can agree to disagree, and that is ok because friction begets heat…. then light 😉
Sorry it took me so long to approve this. I will respond when I have a bit more time. And I agree, “friction begets heat…. then light”. So no worries.