Here's a thought that has come up now and then but always gets lost.
There's another thread asking if school shootings are a "slow moving riot". What do we use to control riots? Pepper spray.
We all know that the gun-banning crusade will never be effective even if they are successful at banning almost everything. We all know what the only way to stop violence in action is with an immediate violent response. We know that firearms are often the best tool for the job. If I'm in a classroom with students and a shooting starts happening in the hallway, I'd want to have the best tool, a firearm, to protect the classroom in case the shooter entered. But firearms are not the only tools available. Pepper spray can be effective. They can be carried on the person. They can come in canisters that can shoot 60 feet. They have a reasonable chance of incapacitating or at least slowing an attack. The chance of permanent injury to bystanders is exceedingly small.
Won't the attacker just wear ski goggles or a face mask? Maybe. Do they make pepper spray with colored paint? If the attacker can't see they can't continue the attack. Slow them down and people can escape or people can jump on the attacker and stop him.
None of this is foolproof, but given that states like MA will never let teachers bring firearms into the classroom, this at least falls under the "do something" that has a chance in hell at being effective. All of this was brought up after Sandy Hook. If that principle or front office had access to pepper spray they might have been able to stop him instead of sacrificing their lives rushing at him with nothing. Why the hell isn't this being done right now?
You jest. Everyone knows a well aimed canned vegetable is the ultimate tool for defending children in a GFZ.
(I had been wondering why no one thought to have pepper spray, bear spear or even wasp spray.)