It’s About The Guns, AND…

Sadly, this year’s National Gun Violence Awareness Day and Wear Orange Weekend followed a series of deadly shootings. The ones that made the most heartbreaking national headlines were in Buffalo, Uvalde, and Tulsa.

The gunmen in those situations faced armed law enforcement. One was killed by them, another took his own life, and one is in the hands of the justice system. Hopefully for life.

I agree that we need more effective gun laws, but we must focus on more than the number and types of firearms in our communities. We must also look at the training law enforcement and security professionals receive, as well as the supports available for troubled individuals.

Yes, I repeat myself when it comes to training. If you’re a law enforcement or security professional, ask your department or company for training. If you’re not getting the type of training you need for active shooter situations, look for it yourself. If you’re in a small community, you may need to go to a larger city to be trained by professionals who have had more experience with active shooters.

When you are looking for training, don’t just trust the course title. Check the background of the instructor and the business. Make sure the course gives you a healthy dose of tactics and common sense.

Law enforcement and security professionals must ask themselves what they can do to increase the feeling of safety in the areas they serve.

I don’t know what it was like for the first responders in Uvalde, but they received, and followed, an order to stay still and listen to shots being fired while children were crying close by. Professionals I know would have gone in! Those officers may not have known that a child inside was calling the police for help, but someone did. Their lack of action made no sense.

Most people don’t wake up one day and decide to commit a deadly mass shooting. If they do, then laws and policies must be in place to keep them from immediately getting a firearm. We must support those efforts, unless the weapon is needed by law enforcement under special circumstances.

Criticizing the police and locking school buildings is not enough.

We must all support community efforts to increase access to mental health and social services, and we must stop waiting until people appear to need the help before it is made available.

Ask yourself the same question I suggested for police and security professionals: What can I do to increase the feeling of safety in my community? Got an answer? Do it.

Today’s decision to stop the insanity of mass shootings can help all of us have safer tomorrows.

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I talk about security training in my book Rent-A-Cop Reboot and in some of the videos on the Leumas Publishing YouTube Channel. Check them out and subscribe.