Originally published in the September 2018 Official Journals of the National Rifle Association
As the calendar turns to September, American families are focused on getting children “back to school.” Notebooks, backpacks and new wardrobes are all needed. Kids and parents are adjusting their schedules. It’s all about school.
My wife, Betsy, and I raised four children and are blessed with 17 grandchildren. Though I spent much of my life on the “Front Lines of Freedom” as a U.S Marine, I know what the “front line” of “back to school” looks like.
But as our children head back to the classroom, millions of American parents are worried about the safety of their children. For them, the “front line” is school security.
There are more than 130,000 public and private schools in the United States. Recent surveys indicate that 65 percent of those schools have recorded one or more incidents of violent criminal behavior.
Yet our banks, airports, office buildings and sports stadiums are more secure from attack than our schools. It’s unconscionable that our most precious resource—our children—aren’t better protected.
Even the National Zoo in Washington, D.C, is reportedly considering extra security to protect its resident animals and guests. Are our schools and our children less important than zoos?
Surely, every NRA member agrees that protecting our children in their classrooms ought to be a national imperative.
Our NRA Executive Vice President and CEO, Wayne LaPierre, has been talking about protecting our children for years and wrote about this in his column last month. As incoming NRA president, I’m fully committed to the mission of safeguarding our schools and saving our children from the mayhem of madmen bent on senseless murder.
That is why the NRA launched the NRA School Shield program six years ago, the singular purpose of which is to protect schoolchildren in their learning environment. I urge you to take a few moments and visit nraschoolshield.org to learn more about this effort. I also encourage you to join the thousands of NRA members whose contributions assist schools nationwide.
Any American school that needs help designing its own specific security solutions should contact NRA School Shield. Our expert assistance is absolutely free, thanks to generous donations to the NRA Foundation, which funnels money to the NRA School Shield program.
That’s right. Thanks to NRA members who care about protecting our schoolchildren, NRA School Shield assistance is offered free of charge. No other political group, media conglomerate or the Hollywood crowd has ever offered anything like this.
Evil walks among us. That stark reality is one reason NRA members so fervently treasure the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms to defend ourselves and our families. We will never waver from our fight to protect our constitutional freedom and safeguard our children.
The NRA School Shield program engages communities and empowers local leaders to make our schools safer. Schools and districts nationwide have received NRA School Shield grants for pragmatic, effective security solutions.
These grants are critical because so many schools report inadequate funding as the reason for not enhancing security. As an NRA member, be proud that your NRA Foundation is raising funds essential to enhancing school security and helping keep our kids safe.
Of course, you won’t hear much about this extraordinary effort in the national news media. That good news doesn’t fit their agenda of demonizing the nra and the freedom for which we all fight. If the masters of the so-called mainstream media had their way, the Second Amendment would be obliterated and we would all be disarmed.
But if disarming American citizens leads to greater safety and security, then let’s remove armed security from Congress, Hollywood, our banks, office buildings and sports venues.
My point is this—if those institutions and people deserve protection, don’t our own children deserve at least that much safety? Of course they do.
The Second Amendment safeguards our individual freedom to protect our lives, homes and families. When we stand and fight for that freedom, we do so for all Americans.
If you have a child or grandchild in an unprotected school, ask the principal, superintendent or school board to contact nra School Shield today. Nothing is more important.
Semper Fidelis, Oliver North
