By Steve Gunn
EAGnews.org

RICHMOND, Va. – Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell is joining a growing list of public officials who believe it might be wise to arm some teachers and principals in schools across the nation to counter random attacks.

“There’s been a knee-jerk reaction against that,” McDonnell said during a radio interview Tuesday, according to the Washington Examiner. “I think we at least need to discuss that.”

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McDonnell noted that Dawn Hochsprung, principal of Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut, was shot to death when she lunged at a gunman who entered her school last Friday. A school counselor also died trying to physically stop the killer.

The gunman ended up killing 26, including 20 small children.

“If a person like (Hochsprung) was armed and trained could they have stopped the carnage in the classroom?” McDonnell said. “Perhaps.”

McDonnell also called for a review of safety procedures at schools throughout Virginia and said lawmakers ought to consider mental illness, the nation’s culture of violence, and the values taught to children at home, when considering how to prevent further school attacks.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry and former Education Secretary Bill Bennett have also talked about the possible need to arm school staff across the nation.

One Virginia congressman was offended by the governor’s remarks.

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“Can you imagine if there had been a shootout at Newtown?” said U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly, a Democrat. “Even the NRA hasn’t gone this far. Gov. McDonnell’s statements were outrageous and insensitive.”

Just to set the record straight, there was indeed a shootout at the Newtown elementary school last Friday. The problem was that it was one-sided. If one or more staff members had been trained to use handguns and had weapons at their disposal, the death toll might have been a fraction of what it was.

Mass killers pick “gun-free school zones” because they are gun free. That means nobody will be able to stop them as they do their dirty work. Perhaps if they knew the schools had armed security officers, or at least several armed staff members, they night rethink their plans.

It’s certainly worth considering. It’s outrageous and insensitive for Congressman Connolly to think otherwise.