NRA, All Y’all Might Want to Stay in your OWN Lane!
Awhile back (2018 following the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School to be exact), the NRA created a virtual shitstorm when they ‘suggested’ that medical professionals stay in their lane. That same year, the NRA also created something they called their "National School Shield Program". Between the time they created the National School Shield Program and today, there has been little, to no, media coverage I'm aware of for this highly touted program (said with tongue planted firmly in cheek)....until May 31, 2023 that is. I give you their tweet here:
There's a video attached to the above tweet, but I won't share it here. That's how much I think of it. If you, the reader, feel the need to view it, you'll have to go to Twitter by clicking the above link and watch it there.
“Stay in their lane”….that’s what the NRA said medical professionals should do.
What exactly is that supposed to mean?
Jeez, I’m digressing quicker here than I usually do!
Back on topic….
The NRA has told medical professionals to stay in their lane. They've been critical of so-called Hollywood 'elites' for speaking out about gun safety reform. They've been critical of politicians and gun safety reform advocates like Moms Demand Action, March For Our Lives, and others for doing so, too. But, to my knowledge, the NRA hasn’t come out and specifically told educators to stay in their lane. However, and more importantly, the NRA has advocated arming teachers.
The first question that comes to my mind when I see the NRA advocating for arming teachers? Wouldn’t arming teachers require that they not stay in their lane of educating our children?
Sorry, rhetorical question.
So, when I saw this tweet from educator, Susannah Hogan, back in 2018, it resonated with me:
Active shooter drills have become her and so many other educators’ lane.
Now enter the NRA, self-professed facilitators of school safety.
Wait! What?
Don’t believe me?
Take a look at what they say on their NRA National School Shield Program website:
"We Have A Singular Mission: To Protect Our Children"
Wait! What? I thought their singular mission was to advocate for the 2nd Amendment. Am I missing something here? Sorry. Rhetorical....
Also, from their website:
School security is a complex issue with no simple, single solution. The NRA School Shield program is committed to addressing the many facets of school security, including best practices in security infrastructure, technology, personnel, training, and policy. Through this multidimensional effort, NRA School Shield seeks to engage communities and empower leaders to help make our schools more secure."
“The nra (sic) is going to bring all of its knowledge, dedication and resources to develop a model National School Shield Emergency Response Program for every school that wants it. From armed security to building design and access control to information technology to student and teacher training, this multi-faceted program will be developed by the very best experts in their fields.”
In other words, the NRA said they were going gung ho on school safety….to bring it all home and make it happen.
Did they do so?
Not so much according to Mother Jones:
After Sandy Hook, the NRA Made Big Promises About a New School Safety Program. It Hasn’t Done Much.
That article was published in 2018, but color me not surprised one little bit.
From the Mother Jones article:
“According to the foundation tax returns through 2016, it didn’t issue a single grant for school security after 2014.”
So, while the NRA School Shield Program is still active on their site, no grants were issued between 2014 and 2016. I seriously doubt any grants have been issued since then either.
Why is that?
According to Mother Jones, at that time NRA spokes-‘model’ Dana Loesch was asked about this by a grieving Parkland Mom. Her response was schools had to 'volunteer' to take advantage of it (the program).
Interesting…not very practical, but interesting nonetheless.
And then there's this from NBC News from June 10, 2022: Wayne LaPierre touted an NRA school safety program after Uvalde. Here's how much the NRA really spent on it.
"The total amount of NRA funds given to schools to improve security since the program began in 2014 is less than $2 million, or .08 percent of the $2.2 billion in revenue the NRA and its associated foundation have raised in the same timeframe, from 2014 to 2019, according to an NBC News review of charitable tax filings and information from the Second Amendment organization."
From the same article:
"One former adviser to the organization told NBC News that multiple former NRA employees were “stunned” that LaPierre chose to highlight the program in the wake of Uvalde."
So, do you, the NRA, keep full-time school safety subject matter experts on payroll on the off chance a school 'volunteers' to take advantage of the NRA School Shield Program? After all, you (NRA) stated you were bringing together subject matter experts in their respective fields to contribute said expertise in developing your School Shield Program.
Serious question NRA. Do you?
If so, what are their school safety qualifications?
If you haven't kept them on your payroll, well….some pretty damn empty promises don’t you think?
When the National School Shield Program initially came out, I decided to take a pretty deep dive into the kinds of guidance that were available. On the whole, the guidance was pretty repetitive from other sources (FEMA Multihazard Emergency Planning for Schools, SchoolSafety.gov under Dept of Homeland Security, Readiness and Emergency Management Technical Assistance Center, etc. etc.) with the singular exception that the NRA program was advocating for armed personnel in schools. And now, in 2023, the NRA is again touting its National School Safety Shield Program as something schools should invest their time and energy into taking advantage of even though it's been largely dormant pretty much since its inception. Seriously?
Perhaps all y’all should leave school safety to those who actually have the training and expertise to make it happen because I really don't believe you or Wayne LaPierre give two shits for our children even though you say you do. Empty words are just that....empty.
Perhaps all y’all should stay in YOUR lane lobbying for guns everywhere.
My two cents.
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