by Nikki Goeser
My husband Ben and I used to run a mobile karaoke business in Nashville, Tennessee. Every Thursday evening, we would load up our vehicle and head to a popular restaurant to help facilitate a night of good music and great memories.
As a woman who was concerned for her safety, I usually carried my permitted concealed handgun with me. But in April of 2009, Tennessee did not allow carrying firearms in restaurants that served alcohol, so I left my handgun locked inside of my vehicle.
While Ben and I obeyed Tennessee law that night, my stalker did not. He walked into the restaurant, which was classified as a “Gun Free Zone” and shot my husband seven times at close range.
Ben died that night in front of me and fifty witnesses. My dreams of becoming a mother and building a family together died, too.
While my story is unique, violence and murder in “Gun Free Zones” are not. According to researchers, 94 percent of mass public shootings occur in “Gun Free Zones”. In my home state of Tennessee, where three nine year-old children and three adults were massacred at The Covenant School, the killer’s manifesto made a note to check the parking lot for security before entering the building. She had “looked at” two other schools, both public, before deciding “the security was too great to do what she wanted to do.”
So, she chose a private Christian school, where the security “is a whole lot less,” as she updated her murderous plot to attack the more vulnerable location, in order to get a higher body bag count.
Clearly, these evil people aren’t looking for a fair fight. They want full control and no opposition along the way. That’s why “Gun Free Zones” continue to be their #1 destination for a massacre.
At school, our children and grandchildren are vulnerable to harm. Allowing teachers and administrators to carry concealed firearms on campus will only make our schools safer. While School Resource Officers (SROs) can provide an important layer of protection and support in our schools, employing – and arming – one person to safeguard an entire campus is simply inadequate. Consider the following quote from Sheriff Hoffman.
“A deputy in uniform has an extremely difficult job in stopping these attacks,” noted Sarasota County, Florida, Sheriff Kurt Hoffman. “These terrorists have huge strategic advantages in determining the time and place of attacks. They can wait for a deputy to leave the area or pick an undefended location. Even when police or deputies are in the right place at the right time, those in uniform who can be readily identified as guards may as well be holding up neon signs saying, ‘Shoot me first.’ My deputies know that we cannot be everywhere.”
Through this legislation, teachers who have a handgun carry permit, written authorization from both the school’s principal and local law enforcement, and complete 40 hours of firearms training will have the ability to carry concealed on campus. In an active shooter situation, police will already know exactly who the legally armed teachers are, and those teachers will have the ability to quickly respond, neutralize the threat, and ultimately prevent or reduce the loss of life that can occur before police are able to arrive on scene.
While this legislation is far from perfect, it is an extra layer of security and a huge step in the right direction. SB 1325 does not solve all of the ills that plague our community, state, or country, but allowing highly competent and approved educators to carry concealed firearms will undoubtedly save lives.
I know that speeches, letters, vigils, and even legislation won’t bring back my husband, the six innocent lives lost at The Covenant School, or the countless others killed by deranged, evil people, but this is an opportunity to prevent the next senseless tragedy.
I’m very grateful that Governor Bill Lee has signed this legislation and made this law.
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Nikki Goeser is Senior Fellow of the Crime Prevention Research Center and author of Stalked and Defenseless.
Photo “Nikki Goeser” and “Nikki and Ben Goeser” by Nikki Goeser.
Unfortunately too many school districts are opting out of this choice because they believe guns are bad and teachers are supposed to teach not defend their students. As usual people with no knowledge of combative behavior are making decisions that endanger the lives of others, the Knox county school board being one such example. One, or two school resource officers cannot preempt a determined attacker who has planned and prepared for such a heinous crime because as this article stated the attacker has the advantage of knowing when and where they will strike, Uvalde Tx is a good example of this as well as other school attacks. How can this change? For one having state representatives who will write and pass decent laws that have no loopholes as this one does. Number two is having parents and communities contact their law makers and school boards and protest when they see their children’s safety being jeopardized by local school boards decisions.