'Whizzing bullets would slow shooter' and more letters to the editors

Whizzing bullets would slow shooter

A Jan. 11 letter stated, "The knowledge that teachers at Sandy Hook Elementary School were armed would not have come close to stopping the school's shooter." I disagree. Remember, when the coward heard the sirens approaching, he killed himself. Just the threat of facing armed authorities caused the coward to kill himself. After his initial assault, had anyone started firing bullets at him, not only would he have been distracted from his original plan, but if the good-guy teacher hadn't killed him, most likely he would have killed himself, right then. This is much more of a likely probability.

If nothing else, bullets coming at you would definitely change your plans and give the police more time to get on scene. The left wing is placing much emphasis on reducing the number of rounds in a magazine with the idea that this would slow down the perpetrator while changing magazines. How much more would bullets coming at the perpetrator slow him down?

ROBERT CRAWFORD, Harrison


Photo ID needed to fight fraud

I read with interest Saturday's article, "ID check beefed up for licenses," (Jan. 12). A few points, if I may:

I recently received a form letter asking me to renew my driver/photo identification license. It states that, since I'm now over 60 years of age, I can choose to get a non-photo license. One would think that if our government is really concerned about fraud and identity theft, they would require a photo on any such identification documents they issue.

Saturday's article points out that, once provisions of the Real ID Act take effect, these special licenses will be required to fly commercially or to enter federal buildings, among other restrictions. I would hope, but seriously doubt, that this will include registering to vote and actually participating in the voting process.

Finally, the Wikipedia article on the Real ID Act points out that Tennessee is among 24 states that have passed legislation opposing Real ID. This would seem to mean that the DMV and Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security are acting either in ignorance of Tennessee law, or directly against the wishes of the people as expressed through their elected representatives.

RONALD KOHLIN, Soddy-Daisy


Be practical as well as safe

Kudos to those parents who do not want teachers armed. A security professional once advised me that a security force working primarily indoors should never be armed. They should have radios directly to 911. They should stay hidden to advise the outside. There should be at least four school officials with these radios.

The role of school employees is to protect the children and themselves. There should be alarm buttons in every classroom and about every 30 feet in the halls and on every level in stairways.

Let's be practical as well as safe.

DAN CHESANOW, Athens, Tenn.

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