Still crossing fingers 10 years after Columbine

Principal crosses fingers (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)

On this 10th anniversary of the Columbine massacre, it is outrageous that there is nothing in place to stop a repeat or worse except our wish that there won't be. It is outrageous that when, not if, the next school shooting happens, the predominant voices from our elected representatives and the media, and those gullible enough to believe them, will be to demand more citizen disarmament.

Let me tell you about a research paper, written by the foremost expert on the Columbine shootings. From "Guns in Schools," my Nov. 2006 "Rights Watch" column for Guns Magazine:

"Students who bring guns to school are hardly ever detected," the researcher wrote. "This is shocking to most parents and even other students since it is just as easy to bring a loaded handgun to school as it is to bring a calculator."

...Ultimately, "a school is no place for a gun," he concluded.

The author was Columbine killer Eric Harris, who chose "Guns in Schools" for his report topic. It's not hard to see why he would favor "gun-free school zones."

Not hard at all. What's hard to understand is why the Brady Campaign and so many politicians agree with him.

Another factor I cited also warrants notice:

Harris had a chance to test his theoretical preference for disarmed victims in the real world. As CNN reported on his encounter with Columbine's community resource officer, "[Sheriff's Deputy Neil] Gardner, seeing Harris working with his gun, leaned over the top of the car and fired four shots ... After the exchange of gunfire, Harris ran back into the building."

Unlike with his other targets, Harris did not pursue and try to finish off someone capable of returning lethal force. He fled to pursue helpless prey. The lesson here could not be more clear. Rather than being "no place for a gun," firearms in schools, deployed by moral people, can protect the innocent and repel the evil.

So predictably, there were calls for more "gun control," that is, more edicts that would infringe on your right and mine, but not make one bit of difference to those intent on circumventing them--you know, criminals.

And predictably, some of those calls came from people who behaved criminally and were caught. From "Look Who's Demanding Gun Control," my August 2005 Guns Magazine "Rights Watch" column:

Robyn Anderson thinks background checks to buy a gun should be expanded. Testifying before the Colorado House Judiciary hearing, Anderson claimed that background checks would serve to inhibit gun purchases--not by criminals, but by people who would pass such checks!

Anderson acted as a straw purchaser for Columbine killers Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold. She knowingly bought guns for minors who would not have passed a check. Yet she was credited with "turning the tide" to pass a gun show background check expansion bill affecting those who would.

And then of course, we have this anti-gun crusader:

Mark Manes wants nothing to do with firearms. He thinks his mom, a long-time Handgun Control, Inc., activist, was "really right all along" when she warned him against having anything to do with them.

Manes was sentenced to a six-year term for his role in providing Harris and Klebold with a TEC-DC9 pistol and two 50-round boxes of ammunition.

The thing is, we've seen what doesn't work. But we can also see what has worked--time and time again:

Teachers and kindergarten nurses now started to carry guns, schools were protected by parents (and often grandpas) guarding them in voluntary shifts.

So when we see the influential Slate.com website feature an article titled "The Four Most Important Lessons of Columbine," written by the author of a book on the subject, why is it the most important lesson isn't even mentioned?

Sorry. If I have a choice of heeding expert opinions, I've gotta go with Eric Harris. Knowing he wanted schools to be mandated "gun free zones" pretty much trumps anything Slate could add.

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Afterword

I searched Examiner.com's archive for licensed photos to illustrate this article, and the one I selected could not be more instructive:

Columbine High School Principal Frank DeAngelis crosses his fingers wishing that everything goes well with the School's Prom as he talks with reporters in the hallway at the school near Littleton, Colo., on Saturday, April 18, 2009. DeAngelis was on hand for interviews by reporters with family members. Monday is the 10th anniversary of the shootings at the school.

We can do so much better than crossing our fingers and wishing. But right now, that's really the only preemptive measure in place. Everything else is just a response.

It is outrageous.