A Textbook Answer to School Violence

In the wake of recent school shootings, a candidate for Oklahoma state superintendent of education has announced a bold new proposal to keep kids safe without spending more on school security. Republican Bill Crozier suggests that students can defend themselves from school shooters by using textbooks to stop bullets fired at them.

“If elected” he promises that thick used textbooks will be placed at the ready under every school desk. Crozier recently tested his theory by doing what millions of students only wish they could do: fire round after round into a Calculus and science textbook with an assault rifle and handguns. Even better, he made a home video of his experiment and provided an unedited copy to a local Oklahoma City television station.

Bill Crozier

You can watch the experiment unfold as Crozier and his “staff” shoot up textbooks and measure how deep the bullets penetrate. The scientific method has never had it better! Be on alert for questionable gun safety and unintentionally hilarious asides.

Click here to watch the video via KOCO TV in Oklahoma City.

Interestingly, just earlier this year right-wing activists in Oklahoma attempted to place an initiative on the November ballot — the so-called “65% Solution” — that would have required public schools to dramatically cut funding for non-classroom expenses, including school security. The state’s highest court removed the initiative from this year’s ballot, but Republican leaders have vowed to continue their push to implement the scheme. At least now they have a plan for filling the security gap.