Enough is enough, says an armed U.S. Army veteran in Indiana who has decided to take student and teacher protection into his own hands after the horrifying Florida school shooting and threats of school violence rocked his own town.
Mark Cowan says he is keeping watch outside North Side High School in Fort Wayne with his AR-15 and a handgun at least until added security is in place. Cown told WANE-TV 15 that hes standing guard to protect students and defend them against anyone who might threaten their safety while theyre in school. He has been in contact with local police and the school resource officer.
I [decided] to get my butt off the couch and come out here and keep an eye on these kids and teachers. They deserve it, Cowan told the news station. They all deserve a right to go home every night without fear of whats going to happen during the day.
In addition to being an Army veteran, Cowan is a member of Oath Keepers, an organization of former police officers, first responders and veterans.
These kids mean a lot to me, Cowan told WANE-TV 15. These teachers mean a lot to me this is my community, and they need protecting. And our law enforcement, as good as it is, cant be everywhere. So its people like myself and the other Oath Keepers that say, Im gonna take up that slack.'
However, the school district doesnt appear to be thrilled by Cowans efforts to provide more security.
We take the security of our schools very seriously, Fort Wayne Community Schools spokeswoman Krista Stockman told WANE-TV 15. We understand he has a right to be out there, but we do not believe it adds to the safety of our students. At North Side, as at all of our schools, we have security procedures in place. In addition. at North Side, we have armed police officers in the building every day.
As WND has reported, the idea of having armed military veterans and law-enforcement officers act as guards to improve school safety is not new. Action star Chuck Norris, an Air Force veteran, has promoted the idea for several years in his exclusive weekly column.
Which one of our fine law enforcement or military personnel (in any branch) wouldnt consider it their greatest duty and honor to take a paid or volunteer shift as a guard infront of our schools protecting those precious souls? Norris asked in his Feb. 19 column.
And in 2013, Norris pointed to Israel, arguing that its a beacon of light for how to protect our children in public places.
Israel mandated armed guards at the entrances to all schools in 1995, and those guards are backed up by special police forces, he wrote. Despite that school defenses are primarily intended to thwart terrorists, they also deter any would-be psychos who would cause harm to their children.
Norris continued: Back at the home of the brave, the U.S. faces multiple mass shootings on academic campuses and the majority still refuses to post any type of armed guard or even unarmed security at schools to protect our children. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 70 percent of public schools do not have a police officer, and more than half (57 percent) have no security staff. There is an old-fashioned term for that lack of security response in these times: stupid.
If you expect the OathKeepers to give Nikolas Cruz a HappyMeal, you can forget it!
I said noting about giving Nikolas Cruz a Happy Meal. I said that the day before the school shooting, the Oath Keeprs would have made Nikolas Cruz an Associate member simply for the payment of $29.99. Check their membership site and prove that to be untrue.
Gatlin/Parsons would rather watch cops wet their panties in fear rather than have dedicated veterans stand watch at schools.
I would dearly love to have a group responsible veterans stand watch at our schools. But I dont want a bunch of show boating clowns that has members who were charged with rape and forcible sodomy on a 7-year-old child or someone arrested as a domestic terrorist to be in that group.
I hope I have made myself perfectly clear and trust that I adequately describe the Oath Keepers membership to you.
How many more slaps against the side of your head will it take for you to wake up to reality?
They are not properly vetted. They never have been and probably never will be.
So your absurd claim is that Oathkeepers will allow just anyone to stand guard in front of schools? Maybe some of the members in the past have been unsavory characters, but as you say about cops - "it's just a few bad apples". That certainly applies here.
Your agenda here is to denigrate a group of veterans and COPS who refuse to follow UNCONSTITUTIONAL orders and have a plan to offer protection to schools.
Would you be on-board with this if the group worked together with the local police departments who could run background checks on any of the volunteers and weed out those who do not pass muster?
“Truth is treason in the empire of lies.” - Ron Paul
Those who most loudly denounce Fake News are typically those most aggressively disseminating it.
So....I doubt this could be done by volunteers.....
Funding is the problem.
about 98,000 public schools in the US....
Average school year is about 1,000 hours over 180 days
That's 98,000,000 man-hours.
What do "armed guards" make? $15 an hour?
That's $1.5 Billion
That's for (1) armed guard per school, - that doesn't cover any after-school activities, and it doesn't cover liability insurance, benefits, employer taxes...
Armed guards will never be the answer. If there were enough manpower and money to place armed guards at every school, a mass shooter would then head to (or back to) churches. If armed guards were placed at churches, a mass shooter would look to other places. There will never be enough armed guards and there will always be too many places to protect to look for armed guards being the solution.
The only solution will be to go to the root source of the problem, identifying potential a mass shooter before s/he is too far gone and takes action. Some of that is being done already, but as in the case oc Cruz....the warnings were ignored. How that can be improved on....I will leave to the experts.
#28. To: Deckard, GrandIsland, A K A Stone, misterwhite, Tooconservative, hondo58, buckeroo, Liberator, and Everyone (#22)(Edited)
Maybe some of the members in the past have been unsavory characters, but as you say about cops "it's just a few bad apples". That certainly applies here.
Listen, Grasshopper....a rooster crows only when he sees the light. Put him in the dark and he will never crow. You have seen the light and youre crowing.
Would you be on-board with this if the group worked together with the local police departments who could run background checks on any of the volunteers and weed out those who do not pass muster?
I would give serious consideration to that if I felt armed guards at schools would work. Many, to most all, schools already have an armed guard. Human nature is unpredictable and there is no assurance an Oath Keeper will not react the same as the same as Scot Peterson did at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting.
People react in variously different ways for many reasons. I could never automatically blanket label it fear, although that may sometimes be the final determined reason. Until I had a thorough understanding to the situation... I would just say they freeze for some unknown reason. Remember the story about the Army Master Sergeant, a veteran of WWII in Euorpe, I posted where he froze when it was time to throw the WP grenade and the instructor had to grab it out of his hand and throw it down range.
If you are wanting me to endorse the Oath Keepers under a special qualification you have established....I simply cannot do that. Take the money factor out of it, remove Rhodes from the picture, establish extreme vetting procedures and I would still have problems....because the Oath Keepers would remain an independently formed civilian armed militia responsible to a single person in command with no oversight by any independent civil authority.
as in the case oc Cruz....the warnings were ignored.
The warnings were deliberately ignored by the Sheriff department AND the Feebs in order to create the opportunity for this massacre to happen.
According to media reports, they were ignored by BCSD. It as an agreement first started in an adjacent county between the police and school and then adopted by the Broward Country Sheriff Department and School Board. If ou are interested, look it up. I ill not take time to cover the agreement here.
The Sheriff's ultimate agenda includes gun bans followed by eventual confiscation - that should be obvious to even you Parsons.
It is unfortunate that you live with that conspiracy theory every moment of your life. Gun confiscation will never happen in America. Oh, there no doubt will be political compromises and further restrictions place on some guns, but ending in total confiscations? Nah....never gonna happen. Rest easy on that point ...
Poor guy. He means well,but sooner or later the professional LEO's are going to get tired of him eating their cookies,and he is going to get a beatdown and conviction to keep him from ever legally owning another firearm,or he is just going to be killed.
In the entire history of the world,the only nations that had to build walls to keep their own citizens from leaving were those with leftist governments.
What a colossal load of steaming bullshit! It's unbelievable what your fevered delusional mind comes up with.
Ok,if he is wrong,post evidence proving he is wrong. He sure seemed right based on what he posted.
In the entire history of the world,the only nations that had to build walls to keep their own citizens from leaving were those with leftist governments.
PLEASE .show me how Oath Keepers members are vetted with background checks in any form or fashion
You have no fricking clue what their vetting process is Parsons.
I admit freely that I have no clue about the vetting.
If you do,why not tell us all?
In the entire history of the world,the only nations that had to build walls to keep their own citizens from leaving were those with leftist governments.
Yet YOU dont seem to and you show that you completely satisfied without any reservations whatsoever that these types of individuals are eminently qualified to stand across the street from schools armed with an AR-15 and a pistol
Fricking liar -
Looks to me like it's up to YOU to prove he is lying.
In the entire history of the world,the only nations that had to build walls to keep their own citizens from leaving were those with leftist governments.
I figure the poor fellow will be killed. It was stated that he introduced himself to the local cops patrolling the area and the school resource officer.
But some off-duty cop that doesnt know who he is or what he doing is not going to just drive by and think: Oh look theres a guy standing across the street with an AR- 15 and just wave to him while yelling have a nice day. The off-duty cop will draw down on the guy and order him to drop his weapons. If the guy makes any indication of a wrong move, then....BAM, BAM.
Yes, his intentions are good....but his actions are stupidly death threatening to him.
: Tooconservative, ---- Wouldn't any mass shooter just shoot this guy first?
Military veterans are more than twice as likely to be mass shooters. --- gatlin
TC -- Good point. --- The solution might be to have one child's parent in every class (a volunteer parent with a cc permit). Such parents could volunteer to attend one of their children's classes every month (given a class size of 30 kids), The schools Parent Teacher Association could work out the details and scheduling.. Comments?
As to our supposed major knocking Vets... Whatta Creep..
"And our law enforcement, as good as it is, cant be everywhere."
Even when it is there, it quite often just cowers and hides.
That is rather an extreme gross generalization that really doesnt say anything and definitely proves nothing.
Would it be possible for you to specifically characterize quite often in both frequency of occurrence and number of LEOs involved....then cite specific incidents, other than the most recent school shooting?
But some off-duty cop that doesnt know who he is or what he doing is not going to just drive by and think: Oh look theres a guy standing across the street with an AR- 15 and just wave to him while yelling have a nice day. The off-duty cop will draw down on the guy and order him to drop his weapons. If the guy makes any indication of a wrong move, then....BAM, BAM.
I'm not sure how they can stop him or do anything else. Obviously, he is on private property and the school and the local cops have no power to prevent a legal gun owner from creeping out the kids and teachers by hanging out across the street with an AR-15 and pistol.
Of course, you never know, maybe there are kids or teachers in that school who do feel more secure, seeing a heavily armed guy standing watch quietly across the street.
Even so, I can see how this is problematic, a heavily-armed neighborhood watch kind of thing. I don't think the idea will be popular. People don't want self-appointed armed guards at their schools.
TC -- Good point. --- The solution might be to have one child's parent in every class (a volunteer parent with a cc permit). Such parents could volunteer to attend one of their children's classes every month (given a class size of 30 kids), The schools Parent Teacher Association could work out the details and scheduling.. Comments?
Have you even met any of today's parents? LOL
The glory days of the swaggering Harper Valley PTA are long gone.
You may recall they actually made a movie based on this song back in the Seventies, starring Barbara Eden.
I'm not sure how they can stop him or do anything else.
I did not say and neither did I mean to imply they would stop him. I am assuming that he is on private property with permission on fhe owner. If not, then I am assuming he is more than 100 feet from the school on public property.
I am merely pointing out the possibility of some cop driving by and not know what he is doing there and challenges him and he could possible be shot.
Of course, you never know, maybe there are kids or teachers in that school who do feel more secure, seeing a heavily armed guy standing watch quietly across the street.
I believe I read the school does not want him there.
Even so, I can see how this is problematic, a heavily-armed neighborhood watch kind of thing.
Again, I say it could be problematic for him and for the reason I stated.
The glory days of the swaggering Harper Valley PTA are long gone.
I doubt those days ever existed, except in the sit com mind.
--- The solution might be to have one child's parent in every class (a volunteer parent with a cc permit). Such parents could volunteer to attend one of their children's classes every month (given a class size of 30).
Individual School Boards would have to work out the details and scheduling, of course,_and vet the parent volunteers..
A plan of this type could very well work in rural areas, where both parents and school authorities are likely to be normal, conservative people..
Actually, it will usually be breaking the law if you drive with a firearm within 2-3 blocks of a school. Average length of a block is supposedly ~350 feet. But that includes a lot of very big cities with small block sizes. Most of the country has bigger blocks. A lot of bigger towns not on the east coast have blocks more like 1/10 of a mile, sometimes more.
Within 1000 feet on any public property. That's the law.
I always thought it was excessive. And it criminalizes anyone driving down the street with a gun in their vehicle.
Tooconservative
More than excessive, it's unconstitutional, --- and if my memory serves, that 1000 ft 'rule' has been successfully challenged several times in lower courts..
Eventually, the SCOTUS will have to shoot down this type of infringement, or else. ---
Your agenda here is to denigrate a group of veterans and COPS who refuse to follow UNCONSTITUTIONAL orders and have a plan to offer protection to schools.
I have no agenda. My only purpose is to expose you to the truth about the leadership of the organization you and so many others blindly and foolishly support.
In fulfilling my purpose, I wish to call to your attention that the Montana Supreme Courts Office of Disciplinary Counsel (ODC) recommended Thursday that Elmer Stewart Rhodes, Montana lawyer and founder of the Oath Keepers, be disbarred for violating his attorney oath, according to a recent filing.
Based upon the foregoing factual findings and legal conclusions, the Commission makes the following recommendation:
1. That Elmer S. Rhodes be disbarred;
2. That he be required to comply with the notice provisions of Rule 30, MRLDE upon disbarment; and
3. That he be assessed the reasonable and necessary costs of these proceedings in accordance with Rule 9A(8), MRLDE.
FILE - In this April 16, 2015, file photo, people stand ready to check in volunteers at a staging area outside Grants Pass, Ore., where the local chapter of the constitutional activist group the Oath Keepers was supporting volunteers serving as armed guards for a gold mine on federal land where the claimholders are in a dispute with a federal agency. The federal government and southern Oregon miners have each taken a step back from tensions over the claim. (AP Photo/Jeff Barnard, File)
The case, opened a year ago, involved a trio of issues:
1) On April 28, 2014, a federal judge in Arizona filed an ethics grievance against Rhodes for appearing in court without license or an application to appear pro hac vice. The latter is a requirement for a lawyer who wants to practice in a federal court located in a state where he or she isn't licensed. Rhodes did not respond to the Judges grievance.
2) On May 12, 2014, Rhodes Arizona client Michael Roth lodged a complaint against his lawyer, stating that Rhodes had provided incompetent representation and had abandoned him in his civil suit in federal court. Rhodes did not respond to his former clients complaint.
3) On July 30, 2014, the Commission on Practice set a hearing date for Rhodes to answer to these grievances in person. That date was later adjusted by a day in an amended order. Rhodes did not show up for his hearing.
According to federal court records, Rhodes had a second Arizona client, Jennifer Jade Jones, who also found herself without a lawyer in the middle of a civil case in federal court. While it does not appear that she filed a complaint with the ODC, she complained to the federal court. "I am the plaintiff the above titled action," she wrote the judge. "I have been unable to reach my attorney, Elmer Stewart Rhodes, for several weeks."
A series of confrontations
Since the Oath Keepers founding in 2009, the organization has engaged in a series of confrontations with the government, the most notable of which was the heavily-armed standoff against the federal government at Bundy Ranch in Bunkerville, Nevada.
These confrontations started in 2011 in the Arizona town of Quartzsite when the Oath Keepers inserted themselves into a vitriolic, small-town fight between two factions. Protesters had been arrested at two City Council meetings, and two months later the Oath Keepers assembled in Quartzsite to fight the tyrannical government, prevent martial law, stop the encroachment of the New World Order," and "restore the republic."
Calling all freedom troops! Oath Keepers Muster! Quartzsite, Arizona! -- Oath Keeper blog entry, July 31, 2011
The Oath Keepers, led by Rhodes, gathered to hold the Quartzsite Liberty Rally against the town's then-Chief of Police.
The two protesters that were arrested were Michael Roth and Jennifer Jones.
Current trouble with Montana is not Rhodes first rodeo
In May of 2012, Rhodes was publicly admonished by the Arizona Supreme Court and fined $600 for acting as the Quartzite protesters attorney when he wasnt licensed to practice law in Arizona. According to his online biography, he had clerked for the Arizona Supreme Court in 2004, so it seems unlikely he was unfamiliar with the licensing laws.
Even following this admonishment, he continued to represent Mr. Roth and Ms. Jones in Arizona, filing several federal lawsuits on their behalf.
Citing family illnesses, Rhodes filed a request to be released from the some of these cases in late 2013/early 2014, but by April of that year, he simply stopped participating in one of the Jones cases. On April 15th, for example, he failed to appear by telephone for a status conference, and on the 18th was removed from the case by the judge.
04/18/2014 ORDER, Mr Rhodes is discharged from representing Plaintiffs in this matter; the Court will send a letter to the Montana State Bar Association regarding Mr Rhodes' failure to represent his clients and respond to court orders; Plaintiffs Jennifer Marie Jones and John Lavern Jones are now unrepresented in this matter[.]
Rhodes was indeed too busy on those days to represent his client. He was leading the Oath Keepers in another confrontation at Bundy Ranch in an armed standoff against the Bureau of Land Management
Official Associate Member status Membership certificate suitable for framing Laminated membership card with sequential member number Access to our members-only national forum 2 Oath Keepers bumper stickers and 1 back window sticker
"Shoot, a fella could have a pretty good weekend in Vegas with all that stuff."
I bet their members-only forum is a riot. Probably with a membership of about 50% FBI agents (agentes provocateurs) and 35% paid collaborators. It was a favorite hobby of Hoover's.
Depends on the state. Some states have written in legislation that it's a felony to be within 1000 foot of any educational building, with a gun. Those laws are as ignorant as any snowflake.. but they do exist.
I'm the infidel... Allah warned you about. كافر المسلح
Everything is done on the QT wth them. I find no organizational chart and definitely nowhere is the salary listed that Elmer Rhodes pays himself to serve as president. I find no articles of corporation. It is my opinion that he did not file for organization as a corporation because he would have had to make financial disclosures. The OK would easily qualify as a non-profit. The more I look into them...the more I only see deeper darkness.
I think Elmer discovered a cash cow and he is milking her for all she is worth to collect the yearly dues he duped a great number of people into paying using the beautifully magical sounding buzz word Constitution. He now even has recognizable names soliciting donations to him. That was done recently after one of the hurricanes.
Oh, I ran across this jewel this evening: Daniel Knight Hayden, an Oklahoma man self-identified as an Oath Keeper, was indicted by a federal grand jury after posting Twitter messages threatening to unleash a violent attack on Oklahoma state government officials on April 15, tax day.
Deckard is a gullible doofus to support this bunch.
Oath Keepers seems to have attracted a lot of the "sovereign citizen" types.
As you know, the Birchers had that same problem. They also had to purge various bunches of antisemites trying to take over the Bircher organization over the years.