Why wait for the federal government to take action? (Which probably isn’t going to happen anyway.) If you want to make your schools a bit less of a target for the next madman, make sure some of the willing teachers are ready to defend the students if push comes to shove. (Or “shoot” in this case.) In the North Texas school district, they’re taking matters into their own hands and participating in safe firearms training and how to respond to an active shooter situation. (CBS Dallas/Fort Worth)

Teachers in North Texas are readying themselves in the wake of the Parkland, Florida school shooting that killed 17.

Sixteen teachers and school staff members got a whole day of training Saturday on how to handle a weapon in the event of an active shooter situation. The free event was led by a former Irving police officer.

Teachers like Kim Raney got a lesson in protecting their students.

“Its scary sometimes. We do our best to have security at our schools, but you never know what’s going to happen. And it’s better to be prepared than not prepared,” said Raney.

The instructor is a former police officer with 30 years experience. Tim Bulot is also the owner of Strategic Weapons Academy of Texas, where he normally provides training for cops, SWAT teams and security contractors, but now he’s instructing educators on how to respond to a life or death situation as well as how to safely use their firearms.

I’m sure we’ll be able to find someone to complain about this in no time at all, but doesn’t this seem like a best last resort if there are no other options available? Particularly in rural areas, it may be quite a while before the authorities arrive. And as we saw in Parkland, you may not even have any immediate relief then. Simply teaching someone about proper safety precautions and giving them a few sessions on the practice range is definitely important, but these folks are going one step further. It’s no replacement for complete military or law enforcement training, but if the lessons stick with them it could mean the difference between life and death.

There’s also the deterrent factor to be considered. Rarely are these school shootings done by some stranger who travels in from far out of town. Usually, it’s someone from the community. And if the local news makes it very clear that any shooter arriving on the scene will be met with multiple armed teachers with training on bringing down an intruder, there’s a fair chance they’re going to look for another target.

Of course, in Texas that may be hard to find. As they say… an armed society is a polite society. And people are definitely catching on.