Regarding "County police chief suggests arming some school staff" (Dec. 18):
St. Louis County Police Chief Tim Fitch has proposed arming school employees as a means to defend students and teachers from armed intruders. Chief Fitch’s idea stems from a straightforward problem: We cannot afford enough police officers to adequately protect schools from acts of extreme violence. Concurrently, we also cannot afford mental health services that could identify and treat individuals prone to commit the types of attacks we have grown all too familiar with in 2012.
While it may not be possible to ban enough types of weapons to stop the deranged and determined, we cannot as a society accept adding marksmanship as a prerequisite for teacher certification. It is time that we refuse to allow the costs of unfettered access to high-powered weaponry to be socialized. It is time to impose a fee on the purchase of firearms and ammunition to pay for the police officers and mental health professionals we need to protect ourselves and our children.
If we must accept students practicing duck-and-cover drills to prepare for the day a gunman bent on slaughter comes to their school and teachers must accept being ready to die defending their students, then we must also accept that there is no option but to pay for the police and mental health professionals needed to reduce the risk of another tragedy.
Bill Reeves • Warson Woods
