ONLY IN DELAWARE

Gentry: A gun or a bulletproof whiteboard?

Jeffrey Gentry
The News Journal
George Tunis, chairman of Hardwire, a civilian armor company, demonstrates the use of the bullet proof whiteboard at a press conference announcing the pilot program that will supply the boards to staff at  Gunning Bedford Middle School.

What item would you rather teachers in schools have access to in case of an active school shooting? A small whiteboard that doubles as a personal bulletproof shield? Or a gun?

Pretend you were the teacher. What would you rather have if a shooter is coming down a hallway toward your classroom? Be honest. No need to think about any other repercussions at this point, it's just a question.

Me? Given the option, I'd rather have access to a gun ... and I'd be the first to admit handguns make me nervous. I grew up around shotguns and small-caliber rifles for hunting, but something about handguns makes me feel a bit on edge, anxious.

I dislike even having to think this way, but given a choice of what I think would be better protection for students and teachers, I'd much rather see specially trained teachers have access to a handgun – one secured with a biometric or fingerprint-type trigger lock – than see teachers have to face a shooter with a bulletproof whiteboard.

I guess having the whiteboard is a little better than slinging a desk or books at the shooter – excuse me, slinging personal work stations or iPads and laptops at the shooter – but I'm still leery of their effectiveness. State Sen. Nicole Poore and Rep. Valerie Longhurst, on the other hand, seem sold on them.

As part of a pilot program the two created, the staff at Gunning Bedford Middle School now has these bulletproof whiteboards in their classrooms. Poore hopes to get the boards in schools across Delaware, according to a story by The News Journal's Matthew Albright. The ones at Gunning Bedford were paid for by Delmarva Power, the Delaware City Refinery and Monroe Energy, not taxpayers.

The shields have stick figure instructions on the back that basically tell the user to grab the shield, get those you want to protect behind you, hold the shield up between you and the shooter and then, as shots are being fired at you, move toward the shooter and attempt to hit the gun and the shooter with the shield.

So much more complicated and physically demanding than these instructions: unlock safety, take aim, pull trigger.

At least these boards are an attempt at helping, and for that, those involved deserve credit. Let's just hope these teachers never have to put these things to use as anything more than a whiteboard.

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