Back in the grim days following the Columbine High School atrocity, I pushed hard for the \u201cIsraeli model\u201d of armed school personnel. After the Maalot massacre, an all-volunteer program was put together for school personnel and family members of students who were trained by Israel\u2019s civil guard and reported to school with concealed handguns. It was fabulously successful in both stopping and deterring armed terrorist attacks on schools. The concept has much in common with the hugely successful FFDO (Federal Flight Deck Officer) program for armed airline pilots. (It matters not whether the \u201cterrorist\u201d in question is motivated by religious zealotry, politics, or madness. What matters is that a protector with a gun be in place to stop the evildoer with a gun.)<\/p>\n
After the recent Sandy Hook atrocity, not only did the NRA come up with a plan for something similar here (while also pushing for more armed police assigned to educational institutions as SROs, or School Resource Officers), but we\u2019ve seen similar plans actually implemented in places like Texas, Utah, and Arkansas.\u00a0 It is a solid, realistic approach to a genuine problem.<\/p>\n
I call your attention to an excellent little book published in December of 2012, \u201cSchool Administrators Guide To Practical Handgun Training.\u201d The author is Richard Rosenthal, a retired lawman with an impressive 40-year career behind him. The first half of that was twenty years with the NYPD. There, he worked Homicide and Narcotics, served as a helicopter pilot, and spent many years teaching at the Firearms and Tactics Unit, which is where I first met him long ago. Retiring after putting in those twenty, he spent a like period as Chief of Police in Wellfleet, Massachusetts.<\/p>\n
Having dealt with school administrators as a chief of police, Rich understands their thinking. His credentials make it clear to them that he\u2019s not some sort of right-wing lunatic, and give him credibility in certain circles where gun enthusiasts simply will not be listened to by decision-makers. Rich is not only a master firearms instructor, but a shooting incident survivor himself. His advice on vetting and training armed volunteers and managing such a program is absolutely spot-on.<\/p>\n