Marlboro Mayor’s Moxy
By Matt Rooney, cross-posted at SaveJersey.com
Marlboro’s Mayor Jon Hornik is standing by the community’s decision to introduce an armed presence into its schools, Save Jerseyans.
I admire this guy’s moxy!
Our Governor and other like-minded pols are opposed to turning schools into ”armed camps,” but I wholeheartedly disagree with their premise. It’s an logical leap, particularly when so many of our high schools already have a regular police presence. The fact also remains that there seems to be little or no political will on either side of the aisle to address the real problem: an over-medicated, under-parented generation whose less stable members are shielded from meaningful psychiatric action by asinine post-deinstitutionalization laws and administrative regulations.
The majority of Marlboro residents–those with kids in theK-8 school district–and those who don’t, are against this plan.
We just had three police officer’s shot in a police station today in South Jersey. If a police officer is not safe in a police station with numerous armed officers, whats to say numerous children will be safe with one armed officer??
This “knee-jerk” reaction is the brainchild of Mayor Hornik and the Board of Education. There needs to be a public hearing on this matter. I voiced my displeasure with this decision on his Facebook page and it was removed.
The Marlboro PD is woefully undermanned, and questions as to who will be paying for this and how much, needs to be throughly vetted.
Like I mentioned in previous posts regarding this issue: Columbine had an armed security guard, and look what happened; Fort Hood has military and Department of Defense Police, and look what happened when Major Nidal Hassan decided to kill eleven and wound numerous others. And the one that takes the cake: Virginia Tech. Here you had a university equipped with an armed campus police larger than most New Jersey municipalities–look what happened: the largest mass killing of students in American history.
This needs some serious discussion.
Marlboro PD has plenty of manpower, they are just too busy running traffic radar and hanging out with the teenage girls at the shopping centers.
The incident referenced in South Jersey is completely unrelated — one of the officers involved was woefully under-trained and allowed his firearm to be taken from him by a man being processed for Domestic Violence while other ill-prepared officers failed to stop the situation quickly (because of the legal ramifications of doing so).
With police forces across the country trained for little more than traffic duty, a serious discussion needs to be had on 2nd Amendment rights, so that the can lawfully and legally defend themselves, as well as a review of our 6th Amendment rights to a trial by an impartial jury, so that when law abiding citizens, or police officers like in this case, do lawfully and legally defend themselves, they are not punished as criminals.
Jim, what would you suggest as a solution? Now that it has happened enough to really raise awareness, the armed teachers and/or guards will be ready at the very sign of trouble. If I had small children in school I would want a responsible/trained armed person or people on duty. We have been so brainwashed in this state to think that you can’t say the word “gun” you can’t spell it, shape your fingers like it….totally asinine.
To say that because armed guards have failed to protect in some situations is a reason to squash the idea, is ridiculous. My New Years resolution is to help any Gun Rights organizations in changing our strict gun laws. Another one for “the stupidest things ever award” is putting a big ole sign on a building saying “Gun Free Zone”. Instead, let’s put up a target with some bulls eye shots on it saying “This Was Done By One of Our Many Armed Teachers”.
Bar, it seems that many of these incidents have a common denominator: mental illness. Therefore I would suggest in addition to a criminal history background to purchase/possess firearms, a psychological check be instituted as well. This would not be only for the applicant, but for those living in the same household as the applicant.
In the Newtown incident, the applicant had a son that had mental issues. He also had access to the applicants weapons. Had it be known about his condition, I believe Ms. Lanza should have been denied the right to own her weapons.
Also, I am against assault weapons and large caliber weapons being sold and possessed. The former is for killing people, the latter can be used to take down planes, penetrate armored vehicles, and of course have the ability to kill police officers wearing protective vests. There is no need for the average citizen to have these weapons. Where do we stop? bazoozkas, howitzers, etc.
So the above is JUST my suggestion and opinion–and just that.
Just speaking for myself (and with kids in schools) note that to have one armed person in every school in the United States would mean bringing aprox 80,000 additional guns onto school grounds. As the incident in Southern NJ showed today (where a gun was taken away from a police officer in the police station), just having that many additional guns in schools means that some bad things are going to happen (accidental discharge, stolen/taken away from owner, etc.)
I’d don’t think anyones 2nd Amendment rights would be being interferred with if they are told they can not buy a weapon that is designed for mass killing and only belongs on a battlefield. What is next bazookas??
Hopefully some things are done on a national level that everyone (or almost eveyone) can agree on. Close gun-show loophole. Backround checks on all purchases. Some kind of limits in all states on how many weapons people can buy in the course of a year (so they are not bought legally in one state and sold illegaly in another.) Much stronger reporting and enforcement of national list of people who are not permitted to buy guns (mentally ill, criminals, people on terrorist watch list, etc.)
No one step is going to prevent every mass killing in the future but taking these steps would certainly make it harder and maybe save some lives in the process.
Dumbest idea ever! What are we the Wild West? Arm schools then what … churches, day care… how many other places?
Til the boy mayor runs for a legislative seat. The local GOP needs to stop praising/talking about him, to help him on his way!