by Sean Flynn
Inland Empire residents know from painful experience that America faces an unacceptable level of gun violence. Whether at a workplace in San Bernardino a high school in Palmdale, or in Santa Fe, Texas, far more needs to be done to prevent these tragedies.
As we discuss our options, I would like to point out that there are at least five common-sense solutions that can be enacted immediately to help safeguard students and schools from a repeat of the tragedy in Palmdale. You have probably never heard of them because the political parties have gone to polar extremes and are more interested in finger pointing than proven solutions.
Our fundamental problem is that students and schools have been left defenseless. It wasn’t always like that. When I was growing up in the 1980s and attending junior high and high school in the gang-plagued Los Angeles Unified School District, we had metal detectors to stop students from bringing weapons (both knives and guns) onto campus. It worked and metal detectors are something that we now as a society embrace at airports, concerts, and government buildings.
We need to place metal detectors in schools once again. Nobody should be able to walk casually onto campus with a firearm and shoot children.
Let’s also embrace more recent prevention technologies. Consider the Salto electronic door locks that the Loma Linda Unified School District just installed at every one of its schools.
Each principal in the district now has a mobile app that allows them to lock down their entire campus in just eight seconds if there’s an emergency. Some might object to the $1.4 million cost, but this proven technology comes out to just 8 cents per student per day. That’s a bargain by any measure, especially so when considering how infinitely precious our children are.
Another proven lifesaver is the ShotSpotter acoustical gunshot detection and location system, which uses ordinary microphones to detect and locate gunfire. Within seconds, it can detect that firearms have been discharged, tell authorities the location to within 10 feet, and even tell them if there was more than one shooter.
ShotSpotter is used by more than 90 cities around the world and is credited by the San Francisco Chief of Police with helping to reduce both gun crime and homicides by fifty percent over the past 10 years. We need ShotSpotter at every school in America and in the neighborhoods that surround them.
Fences and metal detectors are the first line of defense. ShotSpotter lets authorities know when something has gone wrong. And Salto allows for instant lockdown. But we must also have trained professionals on site at every school ready to engage and disable if a shooter manages to get past the fences and metal detectors.
So I once again recommend proven solutions. The schools I attended back in the 1980s had armed police officers patrolling the halls and walking the perimeter. They were some of the nicest adults I ever met, but their purpose was simple and meaningful: If anyone tried to harm me, they would stop them…dead if necessary.
Society, of course, also needs to seriously reconsider how it deals with the violently mentally ill and to have a serious talk about the best ways of restricting potential predators from gaining access to firearms. Both of those debates will be heated, but both sides should consider a new type of restraining order that can deny firearms to potential shooters.
It’s called a Gun Violence Restraining Order (GVRO) and it allows family members and others who are close to a disturbed individual to present real evidence—such as screen shots of social media posts or copies of diary entries—to a local judge who can then issue a 21-day restraining order that allows the police to temporarily deny weapons to the disturbed individual.
California’s GVRO law went into effect in 2018, but California is one of just five states to allow for GVROs. Other states should consider adopting GVROs and citizens should be made aware that GVROs are an important option for those living with potential predators.
The best fence is the one that’s never breached, the best metal detector is the one that’s never set off, and the best Salto system is the one that’s never activated. But until we can 100% deny weapons to the violently mentally ill, we need all of them, as well as ShotSpotters, school police, and GVROs. They are proven, practical, cost effective and would make another Palmdale much less likely. I hope we implement each of them as soon as possible. Our children must be protected.
I live in Redlands. I am a recognized economist, business owner, educator,and Board member on the San Bernardino County Employees’ Retirement Association. I am also the author of the best-selling book Economics for Dummiesand the coauthor of the world’s best-selling college textbook, Economics: Principles, Problems, and Policies.
Mail in ballots were sent out on May 9th., and rumors say voters must add two stamps to their ballots.
Ialand Empire, CALIF.- People who vote by mail are accustomed to using one stamp to send in their ballots, but there’s a rumor circulating that this June the ballot is larger than usual, and that extra weight requires an additional stamp.
Mail in ballots were sent out by the San Bernardino Registrar of Voters on Wednesday, May 9th, and will start arriving as early as May 10th, so knowing what to do is important.
“We checked with the San Bernardino Registrar of Voters, and according to their office each ballot will have instructions that will let you know if you need to use one or two stamps,” said Flynn, candidate for the 31st Congressional District.
He added, “Of course to be sure, you can always use two stamps.”
“I encourage every vote by mail constituent to review the issues and candidates carefully, then complete their ballot early, and mail it to the San Bernardino Registrar of Voters office,” said Flynn.
If you have questions about the voting process or the location of your polling place go to: The San Bernardino County Registrar of Votersat SBCountyElections.com. You can also call (800) 881-VOTE (8683) or (909) 387-8300.
Sean Flynn is running for the 31st Congressional District representing all or portions of Upland, Rancho Cucamonga, Fontana, San Bernardino, Highland, Redlands, Loma Linda, Grand Terrace, Colton, and Rialto.
The primary election is on Tuesday, June 5, with the top two vote recipients advancing to the General Election on Tuesday, November 6.
Inland Empire, Calif. The Inland Empire Tax Payer’s Association host the first Congressional Candidates Forum for the 31st District moderated by local news reporter and KCAA Radio’s Joe Lyons. Candidates Republican Sean Flynn and Democrat Kaiser Ahmed have confirmed their attendance. As of this writing Democrat Pete Agular is invited but has not confirmed his attendance.
The forum is Wednesday, May 30thfrom 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.in Rancho Cucamonga at the Lions East Community Center, 9191 Baseline Road.
“The goal of the candidate’s forum is to give voters an opportunity to hear the positions of each candidate and ask them questions. Come ready with your questions,” said Lyons.
While touring at Kelley Space in San Bernardino, Sean Flynn candidate for the 31st Congressional District looks at the machines cylinder used in pulley systems that helps electricians perform their job more safely. Flynn toured 31st district businesses to learn more about their companies and what they need from government. Sean Flynn is on the left and in the front right is Mike Gallo Presdient of Kelly Space.
“The same issues came up repeatedly: overregulation, high healthcare costs, tax reform, high workers compensation rates, and burdensome, confusing labor laws that add cost and hurt worker productivity,” said Flynn.
Rancho Cucamonga, CALIF.- Economist, jobs expert, academic, and congressional candidate Sean Flynn had a busy week meeting with local small business owners during National Small Business Weekto learn about the needs of businesses in the area and how our government can serve them better.
“California does not have a business-friendly environment, which is why it is so important for me to hear from small business owners who are working hard to run successful companies in San Bernardino County. We are going to work together to find solutions to the problems that confront them daily,” said Flynn, candidate for the 31st Congressional District.
Small businesses make up a large part of the economy. According to the Small Business Association (SBA) more than half of Americans either own or work for a small business, and these businesses create about two out of every three new jobs in the U.S. each year.
“I recently met with San Bernardino County small business owners. We talked about their concerns about our current business environment, and the major issues that are impacting them,” said Flynn. “The same issues came up repeatedly: high healthcare costs, overregulation, tax reform, high workers compensation rates, and burdensome, confusing labor laws that add cost and hurt productivity.”
Business leaders joining the discussion included: Denny Shorett owner of Crown Connect, a 40 year old printing company in San Bernardino, Fontana’s California Recyclersowner Cristina Valle-Parke, California Financial Plannersowner Rich Crean from San Bernardino, and Account Executive M’liss Silva with City News Group, which has six publications in the Inland Empire.
Sean Flynn candidate for the 31st Congressional District Cristina Valle-Parke, owner of California Recyclers in Fontana. Flynn toured 31st district businesses to learn more about their companies and what they need from government.
Flynn also sponsored a free jobs workshop in Rancho Cucamonga. The workshop helped local high school and college students create job winning resumes, fill out job applications that will make them stand out from their competitors, and practice successful interview skills.
The jobs workshop was lead by Karina Anderson from Employment Means Success, a local nonprofit dedicated to finding qualified people jobs. Flynn is a co-founder of the non-profit and is vice president of the board of directors.
In addition to these events, Flynn visited local businesses. He toured California Recyclersin Fontana, Valley Resource Center’s San Bernardino County branch in Fontana, Flamingo Palms Cuban Cafeserving Caribbean Cuisine in Rancho Cucamonga, Angel Jewelersin Rancho Cucamonga, and local chopped salad franchise Chop Stop, owned by Kelley Choi in Rancho Cucamonga.
The tours continued with Flynn touring Kelly Spaceand Technology with President Mike Gallo, and Technical Employment Trainingin San Bernardino, which provides manufacturing trades education and hands-on machinist skills training to prepare students for National Institute for Metalworking Skills (NIMS) credentials.
At each stop, Flynn got to sit down and talk with the owners about the issues they face while doing business in San Bernardino County.
“This is just part of my meetings with local business owners. It was exciting to celebrate Small Business Week, and I will continue to stay connected with business owners small, medium and large. I celebrate the successes of local businesses and support them daily,” said Flynn.
Sean Flynn is running for the 31st Congressional District representing all or portions of Upland, Rancho Cucamonga, Fontana, San Bernardino, Highland, Redlands, Loma Linda, Grand Terrace, Colton, and Rialto.
Flynn gained national attention as the best-selling author of Economics for Dummies. He is also coauthor of the world’s best-selling college textbook, Economics: Principles, Problems, and Policies. An avid martial arts enthusiast, Flynn is also a former U.S. National Aikido Forms Champion and has coached five of his students to U.S. National Aikido titles.
The primary election is on Tuesday, June 5, with the top two vote recipients advancing to the General Election on Tuesday, November 6.
