By Bill Kiner
The Boston Red Sox, having beaten the Yankees Monday, are batting 1.000. The Enfield Town Council, after two crucial votes, is batting .500.
The decision to put armed personnel in our public schools was, in my opinion, the correct vote. Granting the Thompsonville Fire District the land that they need for a new fire station was the wrong one-well, kind of.
There is little argument that the current fire station is antiquated. The cost to resolve the litany of problems with the current fire station might be so prohibitive that a new station would be the only way to go. I don't have the expertise to make that decision. But what I do know is that the people who pay the fire taxes should have a voice in this matter.
Three million dollars will be spent to build the new facility. Personally I have no problem with democracy. Let the people vote. I really don't know why the fire commissioners believe that they have more knowledge than the people that they serve. And even if they do possess such vast knowledge, what's the harm in sharing this information with the voters and then let them ultimately decide. That's democracy, isn't it! Maybe a course in Civics 101 should be a requirement for those who serve.
On the issue of armed personnel in the schools, the Council was right on the money. First of all, the $600,000+ that will be used to protect our children will not come from the Board of Education budget. There will be nothing taken away from our kids' ability to learn.
For the record, I do not own a gun and I am not a member of the NRA. And for the record, I want to see our kids protected by any and all means at our disposal. I really dislike the idea of guns in our schools, but we must admit that we live in a crazy world. As I write this opinion piece, I would bet that there is some lunatic planning to do harm to those who can't defend themselves-for example, children and teachers.
We cannot possibly stop an insane person from entering a school-with or without armed personnel. Locking school doors and putting up cameras will not stop a person bent on murdering innocent people. Even knowledge that an armed guard is present might not serve as a deterrent. What an armed officer can do is limit the amount of damage that would otherwise occur if children and staff had to resort to a 911 call and the time that would elapse between the call and the police arrival.
I recently watched a Fox News story about school security in Israel. Every school there has an armed security officer. The reporter asked students what they thought of passing an armed officer each day as they entered school. Every student said they had no problems with this setup and they all said that it made them feel secure. Students in Israeli schools have never been assaulted.
We all carry insurance on our homes, our cars, and on our lives. We hope that we never have to use the insurance, but it's there if needed. I think the analogy holds true with armed police officers in our schools acting as an insurance policy to protect our kids.
I understand the mindset that some people have that guns are bad. But reality trumps ideology. Our world is a very dangerous place. We need to adjust to that reality and do what is necessary to protect our children. Armed personnel in and of itself is not a sure fire protection, but in conjunction with other remedies, it is a justifiable means to an end.
Bill Kiner was an Enfield schoolteacher for more than 30 years, and represented Enfield for many years in the Connecticut General Assembly.
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