As much as we might hope and pray an easy answer could be found to preventing mass killings in our schools, it will not happen. Tackling the threat will require real, thoughtful effort.
Good for U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito and a bipartisan group of other lawmakers who have stopped talking and begun doing something to protect our children.
Capito, R-W.Va., is among co-sponsors of the proposed Students, Teachers and Officers Preventing School Violence Act of 2018, or STOP. Their plan would provide up to $100 million annually for the next decade to fund a grassroots initiative against school violence.
Among the bill’s goals are training students, school personnel and law enforcement officers and officials “to identify warning signs and intervene to stop school violence before it happens.”
That is absolutely critical, in view of the number of school attackers whose behavior leading up to assaults made it clear they were ticking time bombs.
STOP is not a dramatic campaign to ban guns or lock up those who show signs of dangerous mental illness. It is, instead, a practical approach that respects basic rights. It is worth a try.