So maybe the AZ Republicans in Congress really do represent their constituents' attitudes toward children

I know that many people will try to call this an isolated occurrence, but it really does highlight the attitude of too many people here in AZ...

From the Arizona Republic -

Parents alerted about armed HOA guards

There is nothing that prevents Avondale homeowner's associations from hiring armed guards, the Police Department says.

The issue came up this month when Collier Elementary School Principal Pat Bentley sent a letter home to parents, alerting them that the Coldwater Springs homeowners association has armed security guards. He described their presence and focus on students as "a major issue."

In the letter, Bentley said the guards carry guns, look for people damaging public property and that the Coldwater Springs president and security director had blamed Collier Elementary students for the damage.

Yup - I'm definitely not in small town Massachusetts anymore. In the neighborhood that I grew up in, there weren't any sidewalks, so we were *encouraged* to walk across our neighbors' yards for safety's sake.

Not threatened with armed rent-a-cops.

It seems that here in AZ, the attitude is "Safety be damned! We want walls and guns to deal the hordes of marauding six-year olds and their backpacks full of books and other dangerous stuff!"

On the other hand, if state Sen. Karen Johnson and state Rep. Russell Pearce get their way with their "guns in schools" bill, those security guards might be in for a bit of a surprise the next time they try to intimidate a bunch of kids on their way home from school. :))