MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Thoughts and prayers. There were plenty of both from officials after Thursday’s school shooting.
Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris tweeted he "prayed for the wisdom and courage needed to begin to curb gun violence."
The Memphis City Council posted "our thoughts and prayers are with all the students, faculty and parents."
State Senator Raumesh Akbari's statement ended with "as a community we must say, never again."
Congressman Steve Cohen said "gun violence begs for commonsense reform."
We can say never again, but chances are it will. And gun laws are getting more permissive, not less.
So kudos to Shelby County Commissioner Mickell Lowery, who actually offered some realistic solutions.
“We can't wave a magic wand, but there are other resources schools need. They need to have more counselors in schools. They need to have more support for the SROs in schools, maybe more police presence in schools. One incident is too many,” said Lowery.
The best idea there is more counselors. Trained adults on the ground who can have daily contact with kids, build trusting relationships with them, and sniff out potential problems before they occur.
And as Reverend Whalum pointed out, it's not like the money isn't there.
It's time to think outside the box.