School shooting … take the guns and it will never happen again? You’ll never get them all. The insane will not give them up, but neither will the criminals or terrorists. Schools? Not safer. Some law-abiding people will be criminalized and you might just unleash a civil war.

On Oct. 29, 2009, a group including myself met with David Farmer, the deputy chief of staff for Gov. John Baldacci, to convince him that our schools are in grave danger, not just from lone gunmen as in Florida recently or others, but also from organized terrorists like those in Beslan, Russia, in 2004, where they lost 334 kids and teachers to guns, bombs and horrendous mayhem. Farmer seemed visibly unimpressed and, what’s worse, is that nothing appears to have changed in Maine since.

If we ban guns?

• Some law-abiding gun owners will resist/revolt. People will die.

• Costs of search and confiscation — staggering.

• We’ll be a country of slaves (think Nazi Germany, Russia under Stalin. North Korea? Oh sure).

• Evil criminals and terrorists with a defenseless population for prey (think Chicago and D.C. statistics).

• School shootings will escalate. What’s to stop them?

Solution? Harden the security for our precious children. Never 100 percent safe in a free society but so much safer. We proposed armed guards and serious tactics to Farmer in 2009. He was contrary.

Guns will immediately counter guns. Will we do it? I hope so, but not with current leadership from the left.

Jared Bristol, Hebron