Ms. Field’s letter of March 28,“Misguided marchers,” deserves comment. From the opening sentence, Ms. Field showed me yet again an example of how people frequently see what they want to see, and let their proof prejudices cloud their thinking.
It was clear to anyone who paid close attention that the massive student marches on March 24 were anything but “lockstep in group think about gun control.” The multitude of signs clearly showed the wide array of opinions and passionate causes inspiring the student marches. And more importantly, the message of the student protests was not “ban all guns” as Ms.Field insinuates; the students have clearly focused their energy on passing common sense gun control laws.
Many spoke specifically about demanding tougher background checks for “potentially dangerous people” (just as Ms. Field points out at the end of her letter.) The students spoke eloquently and from the heart; hardly my description of lockstep group-think.
And as for placing armed guards in schools as the “most effective deterrent to preventing tragedies,” again Ms. Field is off the mark.
Teachers have responded overwhelmingly that they do not want to carry weapons at schools, nor do they want to work in an armed environment. Where does this armed and ready mentality stop? Why not have armed guards at shopping malls, sporting events, (weekend kid soccer games), supermarkets — anywhere large numbers of people assemble?
As the HSTA Union president, Corey Rosenlee so eloquently recently said in a televised interview with KGMB news, “If you want to arm us, arm us with computers. Arm us with air conditioning.” Teachers don’t want to work in an armed fortress. We want a safe and comfortable learning environment for all our students.
Working to improve our nation’s health care infrastructure, so that those with mental health issues get the help they need is the real issue we should be focusing on. And common-sense gun control laws.
Toni Reynolds is a resident of Kailua-Kona.