This is what happens when the NRA’s propaganda works: otherwise rational people behave in completely irrational ways. See video:

Yes, the school cops got a whole 40 hours of training. I’m sure the parents feel much safer now.

The guns were not purchased in response to the Newtown shooting (they were ordered back in October), but certainly in response to the highly flawed idea that more guns will reduce the danger. In other words, escalation. Which is precisely what Wayne LaPierre has been advocating in his role as a gun industry lobbyist.

To make this waste of public funds worse, Raw Story reports:

Child development specialist Anna Conklin told the station that the district shuttered a school counseling program two years ago, and said the use of district funds on increased firepower ignored the question of addressing students’ mental health.

“Children aren’t born with a gun in their hand and vengeance in their mind,” she said. “They aren’t necessarily going to grow into being a killer. We, as a society, need to address why children are growing up to commit these acts as teens and adults. I don’t see how adding more weapons on a campus is addressing that.”

So, we don’t have the money to keep kids from going over the edge but we should definitely be prepared to blow them away? This is not a reasonable response to a real problem, this is a faux macho response that doesn’t actually help anyone but gun manufacturers. Which is just what they’ve been working towards for decades. The next step? Have the school officers carry them around all the time, “Just in case.” The illusion of safety is very powerful but it’s still just an illusion.

We’re already halfway down the NRA’s slippery slope to the Wild Wild West redux and massive gun industry profits. When are the fearful going to realize they’re being terrorized in order to satisfy corporate greed?

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