Bulletproof door for classrooms

[pam]

It's sad that our world has come to this but it is in fact reality.

Utah company creates bulletproof partition for classrooms | ksl.com

[skippy740]

Guardian Angel - Shields

[jerome1232]

Unless it somehow prevents the lock on the door from being shot out, I don't see the point. It doesn't look like it itself locks and prevents entry.

[NightSG]

It's sad that our world has come to this but it is in fact reality.

Utah company creates bulletproof partition for classrooms | ksl.com

That slide assembly doesn't look all that tough, especially with only a couple of attachment points to a typical wall. (Which is also rarely bulletproof.) Remember that a steel gong target can easily stop bullets even though it can be pushed aside with one hand. I'd hate to put too much faith in a barrier that would probably be defeated by a good solid kick.

[Backroads]

I think these are pretty darn cool in and of themselves, but I do fear them being used for fearmongering--all your students are going to die if you don't have one of these!

It may be a reality, but that reality is still pretty rare.

[Dravin]

That slide assembly doesn't look all that tough, especially with only a couple of attachment points to a typical wall. (Which is also rarely bulletproof.) Remember that a steel gong target can easily stop bullets even though it can be pushed aside with one hand. I'd hate to put too much faith in a barrier that would probably be defeated by a good solid kick.

It looks more like a backstop than a door, I wonder if they didn't shut the traditional door for visibility during the presentation. It would seem, to me, that shutting and locking the traditional door would be a smart move prior to sliding the bullet-proof one into place to help protect against exactly what you are talking about.

[bytebear]

Well, the door people will make some money. Otherwise, I see it as a total waste. There is no need, despite the fear mongering of the media and politicians. Statistically the need is insignificant.

[NeuroTypical]

Bytebear is correct. Teaching situational awareness and how to not walk around with your face plastered to your smartphone, would probably prevent more muggings, rapes, and murders than buying stronger doors for schools.

[jerome1232]

It looks more like a backstop than a door, I wonder if they didn't shut the traditional door for visibility during the presentation. It would seem, to me, that shutting and locking the traditional door would be a smart move prior to sliding the bullet-proof one into place to help protect against exactly what you are talking about.

You can breach a traditional door with a shotgun. The sliding door would need to be able to prevent entry in it's own right.

[Dravin]

You can breach a traditional door with a shotgun. The sliding door would need to be able to prevent entry in it's own right.

A valid point, there isn't much point to just stopping blind fire through the door as the teacher shouldn't be having students huddle in front of the door and depending on the caliber of the gun and the construction of the wall they can simply blind fire through that anway. Though personally I'm with Bytebear concerning the actual need for such hardened doors and I think if upgrading the doors is a foregone conclusion you'd be better off hardening it against more traditional entry.

Edited August 11, 2013 by Dravin

[rayhale]

The door can be Fort Knox quality, but that won’t help any if the wall, that holds the door, is weak.

[Bini]

I think these are pretty darn cool in and of themselves, but I do fear them being used for fearmongering--all your students are going to die if you don't have one of these!

It may be a reality, but that reality is still pretty rare.

I know we, the forum, has run around this countless times but couldn't the same be said about the pressure for teachers to be packing heat? If someone in the faculty or the entire faculty isn't carrying, then IF something happens, we're all goners..

Didn't get to open the link.

[NeuroTypical]

couldn't the same be said about the pressure for teachers to be packing heat? If someone in the faculty or the entire faculty isn't carrying, then IF something happens, we're all goners..

I'm not sure if there's been any pressure for teachers to be packing heat. Just pressure to allow teachers the right to pack heat if they so choose. Since schools are a government deal and a societywide deal, it's a bit more complicated since some folks immediately think about funding and trying to control how many and where, but at the end of the day, the pressure is just for the right. (A right that Utah schools have enshrined in law for over a decade, by the way.)

Something most of us know: guns aren't magic talismans that ward off evil, any more than strong doors are.

[Guest]

I don't see the point of bullet proof doors. It doesn't make sense for shooters to shoot through a door. Usually, they enter first, then start shooting. Now, what they would be able to do, is enter, then close the bullet proof partition and have a hay day with the kids while police try to shoot at him through the bullet proof partition...

[Quin]

This is still, flat out, one of my favorite things

Q

[Guest]

The door can be Fort Knox quality, but that won’t help any if the wall, that holds the door, is weak.

I feel a metaphor coming on. . .

[NeuroTypical]

Quin, that mentality has worked pretty well for Israel, with it's enemies who would gladly blow up schoolchildren if they were a soft target. They tell me when you see a fieldtrip go by, seeing one or more of the teachers or assistants with a rifle slung over their shoulder is a pretty common and unremarkable sight.

If folks see that, you don't need a sign. If they see a sign only, they might figure it's a bluff.