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Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Liberty and Safety Must Walk Together

by Delegate Mike McDermott

The easiest political solution in response to the murderous rampage in Connecticut would be to point the finger at something...anything...and ban it to the abyss. We could then pronounce our children to be “safe” and accept the kudos for our “success”. Politics as usual.

On the books, we have thousands of gun laws obeyed by our good citizens while ignored by criminals. Most of our mass shootings have been perpetrated by those suffering from mental illness who were not armed with “assault rifles”. The massacre at Virginia Tech involved a handgun and resulted in significantly more victims.

In order to solve the problem, let’s begin by confessing that we cannot stop it from happening again. We cannot fix all the sick, broken people determined to do others and themselves harm. We cannot take away all of the guns. We cannot afford cops at every entrance to every school.

We can, however, harden the target and limit our vulnerabilities if we become aggressive in our response to potential threats. There are school districts in our country which have adopted a proactive approach to security threats. Within their schools are certain staffers (known only to the administration) who carry concealed firearms within the school. These trained individuals are designated as “Guardians” and they represent a vigilant line of defense for those we must protect. They are equipped and ready to stand in the gap. Like Sky Marshals, School Guardians remain behind the scenes unknown to all, but prepared nonetheless.

We can opt to provide less lethal technology, such as Tasers, to select staff within our schools. While their effective range is limited, they could provide a line of defense for those who currently have nothing at their disposal. This would require minimal expense and training and could be in place within a matter of weeks.

How I wish one or more of the staff at Sandy Hook Elementary had been a “Guardian” or equipped with a Taser. How differently might the outcome have been.

We must change the way that we view mental health issues and options in our country. We closed the doors on institutions during the 1980’s only to provide no alternatives. The results surround us and it is politically incorrect to even discuss the issues. If we feel your conduct or actions place our society at an undue risk, your liberty should be in jeopardy. We recognize this when it comes to passenger aircraft, and it is time we recognized it outside of the airports as well.

The media must police itself or be subjected to fines for sensationalizing instead of simply reporting these types of tragedies. Most of these murdering crazies seek celebrity status, even in death, and the electronic media is generally only too glad to oblige. Why do we understand this when it comes to streakers at a televised event, yet fail to grasp it in these situations? There is a balance missing that the media desperately needs to find or we can find it for them.

Preparing our children to take their place in civil society is the responsibility of parents. Teachers, mentors, and the rest of society can only reinforce what parents are instilling. There are some who advocate taking certain guns from responsible citizens while simultaneously letting junior play the most hellish video games available night and day. What’s wrong with that picture? Training a child is the toughest, most important job if we are to preserve a civil society for the coming generation. In this, we must hold each other accountable. We simply must stop subsidizing and making excuses for antisocial behavior.

I will introduce legislation in the next two weeks which would:

Authorize a Maryland School District to implement a “Guardian” program;
Authorize a Maryland School District to issue Taser style less-lethal weapons to select personnel within a school;
Authorize persons who possess Conceal-Carry Permits along with Active or Retired Law Enforcement Officers (who are certified to possess firearms) to carry a concealed firearm on the campus of a public school.

It was Benjamin Franklin who proclaimed, "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." Let us be a people who truly understand how to provide safety while maintaining our liberty.

13 comments:

  1. Mike, first of all, thank you for bringing sanity to the discussion.
    Wayne LaPierre of the NRA has offered to train school teachers and other staff in firearm defense for free using my membership dues to finance the effort. Crisis intervention and hostage resolution is included.

    The Mass Media will not report this. You WILL NOT see this on cnn, msnbc, OR ANY OF THE BOZO channels!
    That's because it is a sensible argument to the issue.

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  2. Excellent remarks and commentary Mike. You would think that similar remarks would be coming from the Obama and Biden administration, but then again that would require courage and intellect, which is sorely missing from these two.

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  3. Well said, both of you, as well as Mike McDermott.

    So, then, where does this leave us? Commenting forever on a blog that leads us nowhere, or commenting on a blog that Mike reads and is willing to act upon?

    Mike, there has to be a better place to express ourselves than here if we are expected to help you make a difference Please direct our comments to where it counts or give us the address to do so.

    I have many ideas that may help you in your decusuins.

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    Replies
    1. It is good to have discussions and input from folks to help in forming policy. I try to follow discussion lines here and on my Facebook account. You can email me directly at mikemcdermott4@gmail.com. For additional contact info you can go to DelegateMcDermott.com

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  4. here, here for commonsense.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Commenting forever on a blog that leads us nowhere, or commenting on a blog that Mike reads and is willing to act upon? Bullard Construction

    You don't think Mike reads this blog?

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  6. First of all, Mike does read Salisbury News, as do a lot of Delegates, Senators, Congressmen and yes, even the Governor. While another Blogger may disagree with what I have just stated, not once have I ever seen him at a Press Conference, let alone the ones where Salisbury News is mentioned, including Governor O'Malley.

    That being said, not only did Mike McDermott send me the Press Release, we had a very healthy discussion over the phone referencing this matter and together came up with additional ideas he decided to add to his proposal.

    Networking with citizens is something Mike believes in.

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  7. According to the legislative delegations's remarks last Thursday at the Holiday Inn, the Govenor's views are also myopic when it comes to the second ammendment, and he is wanting to push further limitations on Marylanders. He seems to come from the same cloth as Obama/Biden, by speaking and acting from emotion rather than objective thought and analysis.

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  8. Blogs are the only way to go. Everyone reads them for ideas except those who think they know everything and what's best for us.
    Big corporations monitor blogs 24/7 for not only ideas but also to monitor any complaints about products or services. Lawyers involved in trials monitor for public reaction.
    Since the inception of blogs companies have popped up that can be hired to monitor blogs and social networking for a company and anyone/thing else that wants the service.
    When a politician says they don't read and monitor blogs, then they are either not doing their job or they think they already know it all. The public in general are full of ideas that are very utilizable and practical and no better way to hear these ideas than an Anon blog or message board.

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  9. Del McDermott's plan sounds good but could we also work on some long term goals. Goals such as getting the public schools back to actually learning and teaching thinking skills instead of just memorizing for nothing more than test prep for the next standardized testing?
    Alot of teachers are so creative and students would best be served to have fun interactive learning reintroduced in the schools. Let each school decide on their own curriculum and not some govt hack figuring it out. Anymore the schools are controlled by grant money and some type of useless recognition or designation instead of doing what is best for the students.

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  10. Still dont think a taser is the answer against a bullet. just sayin..

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  11. A taser isn't a match against a bullet but tasers could serve as a way to gain control of the firearm and/or the situation. It's one of those may not help but would never hurt type of things to have access to.

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  12. Bullet for bullet.
    Bullet for taser
    Bullet for hammer
    taser for fist
    fist for talkback
    talk for silence and submission.

    Choose now for your next encounter!

    ReplyDelete

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