Op-Ed: Having To Plan For Gun Violence At Town Hall

Rob Greenstein is the New Castle Town Supervisor.

What happened in Virginia Beach must give us pause about our Town. I’ve learned over the last 5 1/2 years is that we have an incredible group of people working in town hall. I am honored to work with such dedicated people. They truly care about what they do. I wish to thank every one of them for their service to New Castle. Thank you for your commitment to New Castle and our residents.

You are part of our community and we want you, like all who live and work in New Castle, to be safe. A government building should be a place of community. Our community meets there. We should feel safe in town hall. And our town employees should absolutely feel safe in their place of employment.

This latest mass shooting demonstrates the need for active shooter training. Rest assured, we have been doing that here in New Castle. All our employees go through active shooter training, and we are installing escape windows. A sad state of affairs for sure but we can’t ignore the unfortunate reality. And we must protect our own and not close our eyes from the dangers that exist. And these dangers will be with us until there’s action that reduces the risks we all face.

We face a national crisis. We must take a stand against hatred, prejudice, rage and gun violence. Those are our national emergencies. Our voices must be heard, and we cannot stop until they are, and until our nation becomes safe and secure.