Why The “ A Good Guy With A Gun Is The Best Remedy For A Bad Guy With A Gun” Argument Doesn’t Work For School Shootings.

After the Sandy Hook massacre, I told my high school students that my county ( Fairfax County, Virginia) , and every county nationwide, would now have to take measures to make our school buildings more safe.

I could only guess at the time as to what that would look like, but it turned out that all doors would be locked during the day and that all visitors would have to be buzzed in.

While I was thankful that anything at all was being done, I somehow doubted the efficacy of locked doors keeping out a heavily armed shooter bent on carnage.

I know it isn’t pleasant, but put yourself in the head of a school shooter. You obtained your weapons, you made a plan, and you have plenty of ammunition. By whatever means you choose, you arrive at the school. You gather all of your weapons, armor, etc and walk towards the building and….the doors are locked! Does it logically follow that a person who has gone that far would be deterred by something as simple as a locked door?

I doubt it.

A school shooter has almost certainly made up his ( no need to use or her as it always seems to be males) mind that this will be his last day on earth. He has made peace with the fact that he will die today.

And THAT is why the “ the best remedy for a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun” argument fails in regard to school shootings.

I am sure that most law enforcement officers, like many of the rest of us, have a vision of themselves acting heroically in the face of a school shooter who is laying down withering fire and laying waste to myriad people.

But law enforcement officers are only human. They wake up every morning knowing their job could be dangerous, but expecting to come home. Many have families and friends they would very much like to see again. On top of that, the average nationwide salary for a cop is $55,092 per year. To me, it seems natural that the average School Resource Officer in the face of death might decide that 55k a year and a trip to the morgue is not a great price for heroism.

I didn’t write this to disparage law enforcement officers. I respect them ( for the most part) and appreciate the fact that they have chosen a dangerous line of work.

I simply wrote this to elicit the fact that when someone resolved to die encounters someone who wants to live, it is only natural if the latter weighs the costs mentally before acting when the wolf is at the door.