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Today’s announcement about Kennedy retiring was rough. But it gives us yet another reason to work hard to make changes. First an inspirational speech from one of my favorite coaches. Then, something to be inspired by. Watch Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez React to Winning Democratic Primary John Candy was the best coach. He was a great exercise coach. I still remember working out to The Johnny LaRue Exercise show on SCTV. Check it out. Following the SWATTING of the Parkland students Hogg, Kasky and Chadwick I was expecting to read about lots of democratic politicians condemning the SWATTING and pointing out that these are not “pranks” or “hoaxes” but dangerous acts that have led to deaths and need to be addressed as such. What I found out, and what most people don’t know, is that SWATTING is a misdemeanor in many states. I don’t know if the SWATTING of Hogg, Kasky and Chadwick, fits under 7026, the new Florida school safety law, but if it does, then it’s a class 2 felony. See section 1362 below. The problem is that these cases might turn on how prosecutors interpret the act of SWATTING combined with the intent of the callers, and that might not be known until after suspects are arrested. I think that SWATTING needs to be taken much more seriously, especially following the case of Tyler Barriss, the man behind the fatal Wichita swatting case. Read what the government called the act in a brief from the government’s case against another SWATTer, Mir Islam “Swatting is, in fact, a crime of violence. It is an assault with a deadly weapon in which . . . → Read More: The SWATTING of Hogg, Kasky and Chadwick is a crime of violence Do you want to watch an anti-war movie following Memorial Day? I recommend watching The Americanization of Emily. The screenplay is by Paddy Chayefsky, who wrote Network. As you know, I’m a huge fan of Network. It changed the way I looked at the news businesses. This movie stars Julie Andrews and Jame Garner. It goes places you really don’t expect, and makes a case against war in a very different way. It was also anti-war about WWII, the “good war” which people have an easier time justifying. Here’s the set up: In wartime London just before D-Day, Lieut. Comdr. Charlie Madison (James Garner), an aide to eccentric Rear Admiral Jessup (Melvyn Douglas), specializes in supplying the top Navy officers with luxuries such as party girls. Madison is a proponent of cowardice as a virtue because he believes reverence of heroism promotes war. He falls in love with Emily Barham (Julie Andrews), his British motor pool driver, a young woman who has lost her husband, brother and father in the war. I’d love to share all the long quotes from the film to show just how interesting the views are and how brilliant the screenplay is. Here are three clips . . . → Read More: Another View On War Keep Praising Unarmed Good Guys Who Tackle Shooters By Spocko Friday’s school shooting was stopped by Jason Seaman, a former defensive end now a science teacher who ‘immediately ran up to the un-named student, swatted the boy’s cocked gun out of his hand before tackling the pupil to the ground.” He was shot three times in the abdomen, hip and forearm, he has been released from the hospital. Pictured Indiana, Noblesville West Middle School, science teacher and school football coach, Jason Seaman. One day after the heroic tackling, Trump and Pence tweeted praise for Jason Seaman, in contrast to the two weeks it took them to praise James Shaw, the other hero who tackled a shooter armed with an AR-15 at a Waffle House. Hero James Shaw speaks during a press conference on the Waffle House shooting Sunday, April 22, 2018 in Nashville, Tenn. Shaw wrestled the gun from the suspect. (Wade Payne/The Tennessean via AP) Unarmed people can stop shooters by tackling them. We need to remind the media and the public of other examples and repeat the cases of unarmed people stopping the shooter and saving the day. The reality is that there . . . → Read More: Keep Praising Unarmed Good Guys Who Tackle Shooters Prior to the NRA convention, the NRA PR team works with Fox News and their home grown trolls to intimidate and discredit gun-control activists. A coordinated attack is underway right now. Amanda Gailey, left, and Catherine Koebel, co-founders of The Great American Gun Melt, protest outside NRA lobbyist Chris Cox’s home in Alexandria. My friend Amanda Gailey protested outside of NRA lobbyist Chris Cox’s home and his wife’s business, Ivy Lane Linens & Living in Old Town Alexandria Virginia, a few weeks ago. I wrote about it here, NRA Fears Women Brandishing Posters Protest Gun-Lobbyist Cox Both protests were peaceful and legal. The Coxs called the police at both locations. The police made it clear the protesters did nothing wrong, however a woman identified as Cox’s wife did assault Catherine Koebel, one of the two protesters at the business, when she snatched the video recording phone from her hand and threw it on the ground. Catherine Koebel declined to press charges The WaPo did a story about this. Protesters target NRA lobbyist’s home and wife’s business. Tucker Carlson did a story about it during his ‘The Aggressive Left” segment under the heading “Campus Craziness.” Tucker was very concerned about . . . → Read More: Fox News Ramps Up Intimidation Machine Before NRA Convention Here are a few tactics that might be useful to stop guns in schools programs. PDF link to report on liability from arming teachers PDL Link to report on liability with SRO Ways to Stop, Slow or Stall Guns In Schools Programs From Growing These are based on historical methods that have worked in other states: 1) Demand to see the data on gun programs effectiveness “How effectively can someone with a gun protect a school from someone else with a gun?” Everyone fumbles when it comes to the documented failures of SROs in school shootings. It’s always, “If only…” and “Well, next time…” or “We just need more people with guns in the schools!” They are not effective for this purpose. The Post analysis found that gun violence has occurred in at least 68 schools that employed a police officer or security guard. In all but a few of those incidents, the shootings ended before law enforcement of any kind interceded — often because the gunfire lasted only a few seconds. Prolonged attacks, of course, can be even more fraught, as McClanahan’s experience illustrates. Of the nearly 200 Post-identified incidents of school gunfire, only once before this week has . . . → Read More: Ways to Stop, Slow or Stall Guns In Schools Programs From Growing I recently wrote a piece on the school board meeting in Brevard County in Florida. Why Are School Boards Putting More Guns In Schools? One of the speakers, Connie Rookie, a military law enforcement vet, sent me a copy of this article from the National Association of School Resource Officers, NASRO. “Arming School Personnel, School Safety Reform and Liability. from 2015. I’ve contacted the author, Professor Bernard James to do a follow-up on legal liabilities issues in the state of Florida. He also has a School Safety Law Blog and a list of his articles on Legal Updates at NASRO I specifically want to point out the piece, “Government Liability and the failure to train? I’m especially interested to see if this 2009 study referenced was updated. “None of the SROs interviewed in a 2009 study “received[d] training in mediation, basic de-escalation techniques, or in detecting symptoms and behaviors of youths who have been exposed to violence, trauma, or abuse” and “rarely had any formal knowledge of, or training in, adolescent psychology or development, how to secure the respect and cooperation of youths, or on the behavioral precautions and protections that need to be taken with youths [who . . . → Read More: Failures in Hiring, Training and Supervision of SROs Lead to Government Liabilities The NRA will want to make the Waffle House shooting about mental illness, but is also about how to restrict, remove or confiscate guns from people who might be a threat to themselves or others. In 2012 I wrote this piece asking the question, “Dear Tim: I’m worried my gun-carrying son will hurt others, how do I get his concealed weapons permit revoked?” What if your gun carrying friend or son is losing it and you are afraid for his life or the life of others. What do you do? What can you do? Let’s say he legally owns guns and has a legal concealed carry permit. He hasn’t been judged mentally ill by a judge, but he is clearly dangerous. What if your state doesn’t have a gun violence restraining law? Recent laws in California give people a way to keep guns out of the hands of people in this situation. Illinois, where Travis Reinking is from, recently passed a Violence Order of Protection Act, but state representatives are rewriting the bill and renaming it the Firearm Restraining Order. Back in 2012 I asked responsible gun owners, “How would you handle this? The disturbed person is more . . . → Read More: How Do Responsible Gun Owners Confiscate Guns from Mental Ill Friends and Relatives? I spent 8 hours watching and re-watching a Florida school board meeting. I saw a group of smart, articulate women, and a few men, create strong cases against the proposal to arm teachers and staff. They provided excellent information and examples of the problems when you bring guns into schools on a permanent basis. Brevard County School Board appears to be dedicated to a controversial program to arm school staff, despite calls from the superintendent and sheriff to focus their efforts elsewhere and despite droves of residents who have been protesting the program. Tim Shortt / FLORIDA TODAY I was especially pleased to see them bring up the issue of negligence with guns, liability and ongoing cost of insurance. Especially concerning for school districts is the huge financial risk because of Monell liability. These were questions the board was unable to answer. (Video link of the Brevard County school board expressing their confusion around liability, insurance, and asking questions about costs.) Then I watched some people, who had just explained all the serious problems with guns in schools, come out in support of guns in schools. What the what? In this case these guns would be in the . . . → Read More: Why Are School Boards Putting More Guns In Schools? Yesterday a Stoneman Douglas teacher left a loaded gun in a public restroom. A drunk, homeless guy found it and fired it. Luckily nobody was hurt, but “they found a casing in a corner of the bathroom and later found a projectile also in the bathroom.” Stoneman Douglas teacher Sean Simpson, left his gun in a bathroom The teacher, Sean Simpson, was arrested and “charged with failing to safely store a firearm, a second-degree misdemeanor.” The homeless guy, Joseph Spataro, 69, was charged with trespassing and firing a weapon while intoxicated. This is an important story because it raises questions about who pays for the damage caused when there is an accident involving a gun that was legally carried into a public building, business, church or school that chose to allow the gun inside. I’m sure someone will dismiss this incident because “technically it didn’t happen in a school.” But incidents just like this happen all the time, there is even a “guns in bathrooms” tumblr page. With more guns, and new concealed carriers, more of these type of incidents will happen in schools. However, no gun, no gun accident. But for the gun, there would be no . . . → Read More: Parkland Teacher’s Gun Accident Raises Questions for School Boards |
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