As members of Congress debate legislation aimed at keeping children in the nation's schools safe from shootings, they must remember that there is a "fundamental right for the good guys to be armed and ready to defend themselves against the bad guys," Rep. Jodey Arrington said on Newsmax Thursday.
"I think we have to do a couple of things as we debate this issue, just like we do after every mass shooting," the Texas Republican said on Newsmax's "National Report." "When you're talking about 18- to 21-year-olds, they are prohibited from buying a handgun today. Most of the mass shootings that have occurred over the last two or three decades have occurred by a perpetrator who was less than 18 years old, so they're not following the laws. They're not abiding by the gun-free zones."
After the school shootings in Uvalde, Texas, which has renewed the arguments about school shootings, Arrington said he is most interested "in the things that will work, and I think we still have to look at, What did Uvalde do to prepare to train? How did they lock their doors? Were there people armed and ready to meet the perpetrator with greater or equal force?"
But at the very least, there is no need for "feel-good solutions just to say we found some compromise," said Arrington.
"We need to do things that will work and I think the best the best scenario is identifying early if you can, but make sure you have hardened the security and the good guys have the guns to defend themselves because the bad guys will find a way. There is no foolproof system."
Meanwhile, a new Trafalgar poll says that many people feel that teachers should be properly trained to own or carry a gun through a guardian program, and Arrington said that arming teachers would be "absolutely a cornerstone of security for our children and our society."
"I wish we didn't have to turn schools into maximum-security facilities, but we are where we are," said Arrington. "The reality is we have kids like this young man who was consumed with evil to go on a murderous rampage and kill a bunch of innocent elementary school kids. I have three elementary school kids of my own, and I feel a whole lot better if my school and the school that my children attend, would have trained teachers, coaches, and administrators ready to meet the perpetrator with equal or greater force."
He added that "98% of mass shootings happen in gun-free zones," which make them soft targets."
"What's the conclusion?" Arrington added. "Lock your doors and be trained and ready with a firearm to stop these perpetrators. Even law enforcement, and we should support law enforcement and they should be well trained, but you cannot entrust to the experts your life and your safety and the safety of your community. At some point, you've got to have that personal responsibility."
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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