Point Pleasant Beach Schools Bring In Armed Guards

The Point Pleasant Beach Police Department has announced that, in the wake of the Parkland shooting and recent threats in Lakewood and Jackson, armed police officers would be placed in the Point Pleasant Beach School District.

I know the immediate defense is to post some meme about how anyone who disagrees with me in any way is a complete and utter moron. "All guns should be abolished" vs "Everyone gets a gun" is not an argument I'm getting anywhere near. What I do know is that as a father (sorry, I'm pulling that card again), the safety of my child is paramount to anything else.

My gut reaction is that bringing guns into schools is not the solution...and we've all heard the reports that the armed guard in Florida stayed outside of the building while the shooting took place. There's no way to predict how someone, regardless of their training, will react in a real crisis. You can train police officers or soldiers with all the simulations all you want, but until that person is faced with a life-or-death situation, you just don't know. Having one armed guard or a dozen doesn't guarantee that violence won't happen.

Still, I'm actually a bit surprised in myself that I don't totally hate this. PPB High School has about 400 students, which is a pretty small enrollment for Ocean County. Maybe trying this on a smaller scale could be a good experiment.

Regardless of anything, I hope that the officers in Point Pleasant Beach never have to draw their weapon. I hope that no school is ever subject to this kind of violence again.

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