Bored as hell today and saw this thread so figured I'd chime in with some random opinions...I won't be focused here so this is more of a rant but as someone whos served, and handles weapons on a daily basis for my current job, here's how I feel about some of the Parkland stuff:
1) Immediately after it happened I noticed all of the gatherings/protests on the news. I ignorantly assumed that the individuals were up in arms over Nickolas Cruz and were asking for his immediate prosecution/swift trial. I was somewhat shocked upon closer observation when I realized those protesting were really not even talking about Cruz at all, and instead of having a bone to pick with him, were again up in arms about weapons in general. Most mass shooters kill themselves after their event, so the fact that Cruz did not and had been apprehended, I thought was a small victory for the surviving victims, as they could get to see him explain himself and be punished accordingly. But it felt like these kids immediately forgot about Cruz or made excuses for him, and instead immediately went after the 2nd. I honestly am still not sure I understand this logic. I could make analogies about all the "guns don't kill people, people kill people" stuff but I know the far left has already heard them and if they weren't going to accept that explanation then, they certainly aren't going to hearing it from me in this thread.
2) I really don't believe arming teachers is the best solution. At least not making it a mandatory thing. Teaching is already a very stressful and time consuming job and adding an additional responsibility of this measure is a lot to ask. Especially considering there is probably no budget in state funding to pay these folks appropriately for the additional effort. Marksmanship is a very perishable skill and requalification would realistically need to occur about every 6 months. Especially for people who will likely not use the weapon on their own in their off time. Not to mention the cost of range time, ammunition, instructors, and the cost and upkeep of the weapons themselves. Each school would also need to build an appropriate armory to store this equipment. Locking a handgun in a wooden desk cabinet is not appropriate. On top of that you would have to put these folks through consistent psychological screenings and ensure that they are mentally competent to do this. And if a teacher is not, do you remove them from their job just because they don't meet this requirement? There's probably several amazing teachers who are well qualified to give kids a great education while at the same time not having what it takes to manage a handgun. It is a totally separate state of mind. A better solution would be to spend the money on additional school officers, or employ US veterans or off duty law enforcement in a security role.
3) Trying to outright "ban" firearms at this point is a lost cause. Maybe it would have worked 100 years ago, I don't know. But it won't now. Chicago's ridiculously high rate of shootings seems to confirm that when the bad guys know that the good guys can't have them, they quickly realize they are in a city chock full of soft targets. If you are already going to commit a felony like aggravated assault or robbery, having a weapon doesn't really make a difference on the punishment end. If they get caught they know they are doing time regardless. So bringing a weapon along helps them more than it hurts them. I am not completely opposed to some gun reforms though. I think things need to improve on the administrative end. Different municipality and federal/state jurisdictions need to come up with a vastly improved system to communicate with one another in regards to criminal records that would prevent weapon sales to high risk individuals. Same goes for medical establishments. The healthcare privacy act is a good thing in practice but in it's current state it's too restrictive for agencies to be able to keep track of the mental health history of individuals. Some reform is needed. Finally, the level of background checks necessary to purchase a firearm could improve if these other things were reformed.