Parents Take Defensive Action

[SteelersMongol]

Fathers Create Bulletproof Backpacks

BOSTON -- It's time for parents to make the annual trek to get back to school items, which usually includes jeans, jerseys and a few notebooks.

NewsCenter 5's Pam Cross reported Thursday that a couple of North Shore men want parents to consider something else -- a bulletproof backpack.

"They have them with them on the floor, on their laps, on the bus. They always have a backpack," said Joe Curran, of My Child's Pack.

It started with the Columbine shooting in 1999. Curran and Mike Pelonzi said that they watched and worried for their own children. They had the idea to hide bulletproof material inside a backpack. They call it defensive action.

"If the kid has a backpack next to them, or under the desk, they can pick it up, the straps act as a handle and it becomes a shield," Curran said.

It's much lighter than a 15-pound police vest. After three years of experimenting, the backpacks that were tested by an outside lab ranked threat level two. It stops an assortment of bullets, including 9-millimeter hollow point bullets. The fathers researched school shootings from 1900 to this year.

They will sell for $175, but do the special book bags play upon paranoia when most schools are called safe?

"I want to keep my kid safe. I don't care what you do -- if you want to fight the good fight or fix the world's hurts, I can't help you, but my kids are going to be safe because of these backpacks," Curran said.

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news...78/detail.html

[SteelersMongol]

What do you guys, who are in the states, think of this?

[klick81]

Originally Posted by NCSteeler

I live in a farming county and we have good ol boys all over. I think that soemone could lose it anywhere, but my schools are pretty safe compared to most.

IMO, this means nothing. True, urban schools are at higher risk, but what about the calm school of West Virginia? I think this is a great tool for parents.

[rog]

I live in a small town in PA and i have 2 girls one 4 and one 1 and a half. My oldest starts pre- school in a couple of weeks and if the day comes I have to buy them bulletproof anything to go to school I'm taking them and moving to Canada.

[PisnNapalm]

I see this as a paranoid "investment". Maybe for kids who have to survive in a crime ridden inner city setting but for most kids... There's no need. There really is no way to combat random acts of violence such as Virginia Tech. The only thing I can see is to have more citizens exercise their rights and carry concealed. Most states have concealed carry.

I know it's not legal/advisable for students to carry guns, but what about teachers?