In light of the horrible school shootings we have witnessed in Sandy Hook Elementary School, Virginia Tech, Columbine High School, and more, people and companies are trying to figure out how to fight back.
In some cases, ex-Marines have decided to stand guard at their children's schools.
In others, companies are coming up with emergency protective devices as a last line of defense for teachers and school children.
Hardwire Armor Systems has developed a white board that doubles as a bulletproof shield.
According to USA Today (22 January 2013), the whiteboards are 18" by 20", a quarter inch thick, and 3.75 lbs. and have three rubberized handles on the back for slipping your arm through.
The shield is large enough to cover the head and torso, is 2 1/2 times as strong as Kevlar, and "can stop a bullet from a handgun shot at point-blank range."
The whiteboards are made of a similar ultra-strong polyethylene material used in Mine Resistant Ambush Protective (MRAP) vehicles in Iraq and Afghanistan, and they are light enough and less dense than water and will actually float.
While we hope our teachers and children never need these to hold off an attacker until first responders arrive, it is good to know that they are there just in case to stop that deadly oncoming bullet.
The whiteboard costs $299 and a smaller 10" by 13" bulletproof clipboard costs $109.To outfit a standard high school with whiteboards would cost $15,000 and for all 7 million teachers and administrators in America $1.8 billion.
From teaching math and science to protecting our children and teachers, these ballistic shields can be part of a multi-layered defense plan for our schools--and I would think for corporate America, religious institutions, and government agencies as well--and is an awesome idea. ;-)