{"id":32,"date":"2013-04-16T09:42:56","date_gmt":"2013-04-16T09:42:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wordpress.williamrussell.net\/?p=32"},"modified":"2013-04-16T09:42:56","modified_gmt":"2013-04-16T09:42:56","slug":"victoria-sotos-freedom-of-choice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.williamrussell.net\/?p=32","title":{"rendered":"VICTORIA SOTO\u2019S FREEDOM OF CHOICE"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

Originally<\/font> Posted 12\/22\/2012<\/font><\/i><\/span><\/font><\/font> <\/font><\/i><\/span><\/font><\/font><\/font><\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

<\/font><\/font><\/font><\/font><\/p>\n


\nOn December 14, 2012, when Victoria Soto stood in her classroom and
\nheard the gunshots taking the lives of the school administration staff
\nand the students in another classroom, she had very little freedom of
\nchoice.  <\/span>Her contractual responsibilities as a teacher
\nrequired her to safeguard the lives and health of the students she
\ntaught. But it was her love for her students which required her to stand
\nbetween them and the evil coming through the doorway. She had very
\nlimited options in accomplishing her duty and calling.<\/font><\/p>\n

<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/span>Perhaps she could have
\ntried to save herself also by squeezing into a closet with some of her
\nstudents. But that would have left the shooter to start opening closets
\nand cabinets, or to randomly shoot through their doors.  <\/span>Instead,
\nshe hid her students, and stood in her room to face a perpetrator of
\npure evil, completely at his mercy. When he demanded to know where her
\nstudents were, she told him they were in the gym.  <\/span>Then he
\nkilled her. It was only her wits that saved her students and caused her
\nkiller to move down the hall, at the cost of her own life.  <\/span>\u2013Hers was a very special kind of bravery.  <\/a><\/font><\/p>\n

<\/font><\/p>\n

In the aftermath of the horror and
\nselfless sacrifice on the part of the teachers and administrators at
\nSandy Hook Elementary School, there has been a constant barrage of calls
\nfor further gun control. These range from a reintroduction of the
\nassault weapons ban to those who insist on repealing the 2nd<\/sup>
\nAmendment. This knee jerk reaction is highly misguided. At best, it will
\nnot work. At worst, it threatens to set up a violent confrontation
\nbetween an overpowering federal bureaucracy and an armed citizenry who
\nview this as another attempt by the Obama Administration to disarm them
\nand further infringe on their rights. <\/font><\/p>\n

<\/font><\/p>\n

But for discussion\u2019s sake, let\u2019s
\nassume a complete and total gun ban was successfully implemented. Instead
\nof shooting his way in, Adam Lanza could have simply driven his car
\nthrough the front door of the school and started his handiwork against
\nan unarmed staff with a samurai sword, long knife, machete, bush axe,
\nchain saw, roofing hammer, or any other assortment of yard or industrial
\ntools. He still would have had at least 12 minutes to perpetrate his
\ncrimes against unarmed victims before armed police arrived.<\/font><\/p>\n

<\/font><\/p>\n

On the other end of this spectrum,
\nthere are states like Utah, where concealed carry laws extend to
\nclassrooms and public buildings.  <\/span>Teachers, administrators,
\nand parents who have concealed carry permits, carry weapons in the
\nschools on a regular basis. Oddly enough, there have been no mass school
\nshootings in Utah. <\/font><\/p>\n

<\/font><\/p>\n

Perhaps the most digestible type of
\nprogram for most people would be a \u201cGuardian\u201d program like the one in
\nHarold, Texas. Teachers with concealed carry permits, after receiving
\nadditional training, are authorized by the school to carry weapons on
\nthe job. <\/font><\/p>\n

<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/span>Let\u2019s assume Victoria
\nSoto had a choice to be a participant in a concealed carry \u201cGuardian\u201d
\nprogram. She and any other teacher would have had the means to end the
\nspree seconds after it was initiated.  <\/span>After hiding her
\nstudents, she could have taken a protected shooting position covering
\nthe door way, from where she could accurately engage anyone coming
\nthrough the door to harm her kids. She would have had the power and
\nmeans to stop the shooter dead.  <\/span><\/font><\/p>\n

<\/font><\/p>\n

There are many details we have yet to
\nlearn about the Sandy Hook shooting. But the one thing we do know is
\nthat a 27 year old teacher exhibited great courage and poise when facing
\ndeath.  <\/span>That same sense of responsibility she showed in
\nfacing an armed assailant would also made her highly responsible in
\ncarrying and using a firearm in the presence of children.  <\/span><\/font><\/p>\n

<\/font><\/p>\n

Whatever Victoria Soto\u2019s feelings about guns were, she should have had the choice on whether or not to carry one. <\/font><\/p>\n

<\/font><\/p>\n

Liberals love to talk about a woman\u2019s
\nright to choose. But they would continue to deny the Victoria Sotos of
\nthe world the freedom of choice on how to protect themselves and the
\nlives and health of the students they love.<\/font>  <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Originally Posted 12\/22\/2012 On December 14, 2012, when Victoria Soto stood in her classroom and heard the gunshots taking the lives of the school administration staff and the students in another classroom, she had very little freedom of choice.  Her contractual responsibilities as a teacher required her to safeguard the lives and health of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[2,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fist-fights-gunplay","category-politics"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\nVICTORIA SOTO\u2019S FREEDOM OF CHOICE - 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