“Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, the site of the 2012 shooting that killed 20 children and six adults, has been rebuilt by architects Svigals + Partners to incorporate the latest anti-terror measures,” dezeen.com reports. “Working alongside the traumatised community of Newtown, Svigals + Partners designed the outside of the school to include a long walkway through a rain garden, intended to help the school ‘deter, detect and delay’ potential intruders.” Yes, well, for how long?
On December 14, 2012, at 9:35:30 a.m., someone from Sandy Hook Elementary School called the Newtown police to report an active shooter.
After an on-scene delay, two officers from the Newtown Police Department entered Sandy Hook Elementary, some ten minutes after the station received the call, at 9:45 a.m.
The officers made entry after Adam Lanza had killed himself, approximately 15 minutes after the shooting had started. Neither the Newtown nor State police fired a shot during or after the Sandy Hook slaughter.
Would the new school’s long walkway delay an active shooter 14 minutes? Ten minutes? Five? Would that be enough to prevent homicides? Those questions assume there’d be one attacker, on foot, with a gun, attacking in one direction, from one direction.
“Good buildings should prevent unwanted intrusions of any kind,” Jay Brotman, managing partner of Svigals + Partners, told Dezeen.
“This approach leads us to explore how to keep intruders from gaining access from a building, often with layouts that reduce visibility from the street and direct traffic flow strategically in ways that allow potential threats to be detected early,” he continued.
Meanwhile, the inside of the school is made to maximise escape routes – classrooms are situated far away from likely points of entry, and face towards a woodland, granting easy access to alternative exits. Each classroom is also equipped with locks and security doors.
So much fail.
– Reduced visibility from the street into the school means less chance that someone outside the school will detect a problem inside the school.
– Detecting malevolent traffic flow (i.e., bad guy/guys walking) is not the same as stopping the threat.
– Doors designed to prevent unwanted intrusions can also be used by terrorists to prevent “unwanted” police “intrusion.”
– Easy access out of a classroom is also easy access into a classroom.
– Locks and security doors can be breached.
– The more potential entry points, the more difficult it is to monitor any one entry point.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m glad the new Sandy Hook’s been hardened against an attack. Several of the new school’s features are straight out of the post-Newtown National School Shield –the now-forgotten NRA program offering a common sense, comprehensive approach to defending school children against armed attack.
Equally important, the new Sandy Hook Elementary’s design shows that the community is taking student safety seriously and, perhaps, changing their official response to an active shooter. (Here’s hoping the kids are taught to disperse into the woods rather than shelter in a closet.) But I’m afraid all these measures are little more than more security theater.
While it’s not strictly true that a good guy with a gun is the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun, a good guy with a gun is certainly the most effective and immediate solution to an active shooter or terrorist attack. Sandy Hook and its designers acknowledge this fact by trying to build in delays that allow the good guys with guns to arrive before it’s too late.
Unfortunately, it’s mission impossible. Sandy Hook’s new set-up assumes a similar style attack as the one the community suffered at the hands of Adam Lanza. A committed group of terrorists — such as the murderers responsible for the Beslan school massacre — would make short work of the school’s defenses and the responding cops.
In fact, there’s no way the school’s architects could or even should create a structure “able to withstand unwanted intrusions of any kind.” That would require far more money than even Newtown’s well-heeled burghers could provide, and produce a finished building that would resemble nothing so much as Hitler’s French bunker.
The relative expense of the new “hardened” Sandy Hook Elementary school should not be downplayed. There are tens of thousands of American schools which would be lucky to afford new locks on rickety old doors, never mind clean-sheet defensive architecture. Armed staff are these students’ only hope of an effective counter for an active shooter or shooters — at least until the police arrive.
Armed teachers, administrators, staff and/or parents are the simplest, cheapest and most effective defense against a school shooter or shooters. Period. Even watchful police and armed guards — who may or may not still be on site at Sandy Hook — aren’t as valuable an asset. Cops and guards are easily identified and, let’s face it, frequently bored and thus unwary targets.
As I’ve written numerous times, Bush the Elder’s Gun Free School Zone Act must be repealed — a promise that candidate Trump made to supportive crowds (and hasn’t mentioned once since his election). Local and state laws prohibiting law-abiding Americans from exercising their gun rights inside the school gates must also be struck down.
It blows my mind that our political system prohibits the simplest, most obvious, least expensive and most practical defense against school shooters: armed teachers, staff and parents. It’s a thought that occurs to me every single morning I drop my daughter off at school.
I just failed to really “get” this posting. Knox tells us that all the avenues for the membership to control the directors were nailed shut, but somehow continuing to pay dues and attend meetings will one day leas to better people being elected to a closed system.
As known, I am not a fan of shouting, “Shall not be infringed” as a means to prosper the fight to secure and maintain our second amendment rights. But until groups like the NRA come closer to, “Shall not be infringed”, I keep my wallet closed.
Suppressor wait times really are down. I got my tax stamp back the other day, after only 5 months and 13 days from the check being cashed. I was quite pleasantly surprised. Could be shorter, but I was expecting another three months at minimum. Submitted as an individual through silencershop.
Re: the LAPD
Every cop you see on the news is a cop with zero interpersonal skills. That number doesn’t even begin to reflect the number of outstanding officers patroling the neighborhoods they care about, but it does reflect the work still needed to be done in hiring the right people for the job. Forget about stupid accessories, and focus on community policing. Hire cops that people want to talk to, and get them out of the damn cruisers and in front of the community. If they can trust you, you can trust them with suppressors and can-cannons, and yourproblems solve themselves from there.
1) Looks like the *NRA* was correct: bend like a tree in the wind just long enough for the political winds to die down.
2) re: preppers: Okay, looks interesting.
3) Isn’t that just a copy off what Polycase is… oh – looks like NovX is being made by Polycase. Okay, that’s neat. And… I might buy some of that.
I teach my students four things:
1. Safety,
2. Safety,
3. Safety, and
4. All Democrats are assholes.
bit of a pity youse Yanks let those gun-grabbing mongrels get away with this BS…..
only encouraged them to ‘pull off’ another bunch of BS…. Vegas!
The best protection would be if Sandy Hook never happened in the first place.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/sandy-hook-shooting-investigation-fbi-documents/?ftag=CNM-00-10aab7e&linkId=43899519
Instead of suing Remington they should be suing whoever ignored the warning. Why this isnt headline news in CT doesnt baffle me. Its like they wanted what happened to have happened so they could get more gun control in Connecticut.
Screw the NRA, I foolishly donated money right after the Las Vegas shooting because I knew they would need it to stop the oncoming gun control. Then they go and use my money to say they support a bumpfire stock ban. Needless to say, I was infuriated.
As of late, the NRA has been a massive letdown, so I will now be spending my money at organizations that specifically represent my views and goals, such as The Second Amendment Foundation and Gun Owners of America.
According to ESPN, the 49ers presented the gun control pledge as part of creating a “more understanding and safer America.”
Creating ‘understanding’ by displaying your willful ignorance of suppressors. Brilliant!
Johnson was behind this, Johnson Lied about the Gulf of Tonkin Incident, Federal Baby Incinerators were in the pocket of Johnson Democrats, along with CIA because of appropriations! All our watch dogs of Government were neutered, just like the Obama administration did while owning the IRS (Learner), FBI (Comey), BLM (Reids buddy screwing Bundays so son could get land to sell too the Chinese for a Solor Farm), Justice Department (Holder contempt of Congress) ATF (Fast and Furious.
Bill Rugar sided with them to protect his Ranch rifle which was a piece of expensive crap when compared to the SKS.
Remember the CIA was in cahoots with the Mob trying too over throw Castro and supporting the Bay of Pigs. They were Pissed at Kennedy for not supporting the Invaders.
Personally; when Kennedy was whacked I got a day off from school, of course the press had an hr. by hr coverage for Two weeks, sort of like today,s coverage of mass shootings! I could have cared less except for the Consequences of Gun control and a political War with Vietnam in which politicians are the blame for a no win strategy just too improve their bank accounts using American blood.
I’m a member, but quite frankly, only because my gun club requires it. What I find funny is that at every member meeting there are complaints about the lack of support we get from the NRA. Stuck here in New Jersey I would appreciate NRA support when the NJ Second Amendment Society and the Gun Club Association fight the state on the ludicrous anti-gun bills proposed in our legislature. NRA-ILA does little to help us but is constantly looking for money.
Shark. Jump.
The
Do you all have a #2ARally2017 @ UR State Capitol on Nov 5th for Gun Rights? If not get one going plz. Link below! Plz Share! Thanks 4 sharing!
https://www.facebook.com/2A-Capitol-Rally-1414981381948986/?__fns&hash=Ac0Jl7Xo0fFO0lez
“Armed white male” as metonym for psycho mass murderer? “Registered Democrat” would have cut closer to the truth.
I love the red AND green scopes he has mounted at 12 and 3 o’clock respectively. Never seen that done before. Must’ve been highly operator, or our artist is highly dumbass.
I’m sticking with the latter.
As for Halloween, RAMBO will be costumed on my body, complete with rubber training knife, childs M16 noise maker gun, black wig and red bandana, and a ridiculous and useless LBV I bought a decade ago. I may toss empty mags in just for authenticity.
Someone should flood Lemonade, Inc.’s email with pictures of the Lemon Party (DO NOT GOOGLE IT–YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED).
Contrary to the disingenuous LIES of the anti gun NUTS. NO state has the “right” to disregard the constitution. The constitution is the BASIS and foundation for ALL law in this country. The second amendment CLEARLY states “THE PEOPLE”, (not the militia) have the right to keep and bear arms, PERIOD. ANY law regulation or permitting scheme is a constitutional VIOLATION, PERIOD. Anyone saying ANYTHING differently is LYING to you.
“Congressional aides and issue advocates say they see no viable path for passing … an effort to ban the manufacturing and sale of bump stocks, which were used by the Las Vegas shooter to essentially turn his semi-automatic weapons into fully automatics ones.”
“Common sense gun regulation” sounds good, until you get to specifics.
Nobody in their right mind is in favor of some whack-job bullet-hosing a country music festival. Yet we’ve had automatic weapons bans for decades. There’s a whole agency that deals with regulating guns, for “safety.” It still happened.
It seems like regulation doesn’t get it done.
It seems like a huge regulatory agency isn’t the answer.
“Common sense” says maybe don’t do more of that and expect anything different to happen.