The problem with Republicans is they have no imagination.

Texas Senator Ted Cruz’s idea for solving mass shootings at schools is to have only one door.

Not only is this a stupid, insipid and demented idea, but it’s also a surefire way for more schoolchildren to die.

After events like the mass shooting and murders at the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, concerned schools and worried parents call for more locks and for fewer doors. It’s understandable. It seems to make sense.

But in reality, more looks and fewer doors lead to more concentrated killings. In Uvalde, the locks kept the rescuers out and the killer in.

A better idea is fewer locks, and doors everywhere. So everyone has a way out as fast as possible rather than trapping victims in place, waiting to be picked off by a heavily armed murderer.

We can’t count on anyone to be a hero or to make the right call in a situation so horrifying that no training can realistically simulate it. That’s why we must teach our kids to run.

Supposedly sensible and logical security measures invariably fail. If the plan to stop skyjackings is to stop guns from getting through TSA checkpoints, then the plan sucks, because guns will eventually get through, and then what?

If the plan is to get passengers used to the idea of fighting for their lives, that’s a good plan. Because no matter what else happens, there will always be people on planes willing to tear hijackers apart like a pack of hyenas.

Police forces should train for a lightning response by the first officers on the scene, and announce in advance that the automatic reaction is to rush in and kill the shooter.

No one hijacks planes anymore because they know the instant response is the wrath of the passengers who understand they will die if they don’t kill the hijacker first.

Shooters should know they will have no time for hostage-taking, negotiation, or leisurely meandering through hallways and classrooms and supermarkets and hospitals in search of trapped victims.

Don’t settle for old ideas that don’t work.

Come up with better ideas.

Reference

“Where were the police?” The Atlantic (2022)