DEALING WITH ROBOCALLS: More and more telephone customers are being plagued with unwanted robocalls. There are several devices which block incoming robocalls. One of those rated well by Consumer Reports is Nomorobo which is free; however, it is not available everywhere.
CLICK HERE to find information about this at www.nomorobo.com. If this service is not available in your area, the site provides toll free numbers that you can call. It is to your advantage to call the number/s provided; because that will motivate your provider to install the free service in your area. (When you complain it ties up their paid operators, so it is to the company's economic advantage to put in the robocall blocking service and allow the paid operators to take care of customers with other problems.) For a more detailed account of all aspects of robocalls, consult the September 2015 issue of
Consumer Reports which is probably available at your local library.There are devices which block robocalls that can be purchased through Amazon. These are:
- Digitone Call Blocker Plus ($110) 18 of 24 reviewers gave it a positive rating.
- HQTelecom.com Landline Call Blocker ($59) six of thirteen reviewers gave it a positive rating. CLICK HERE for more info.
- Sentry Dual Mode Call Blocker ($59) 27 reviewers gave it a positive rating; 28 reviewers gave it a negative rating.
Editorial by Steven Cook, MEA President: Schools Cannot Be Open Carry Zones
Imagine walking into your child's elementary school and seeing someone with a pistol strapped to his belt. Not a police officer or school security employee, just a citizen. Parents at Edgerton Elementary in Clio didn't have to imagine it, they saw it.
You may think, "that can't be legal." But it is. And, a recent Genesee County Circuit Court decision affirms the legal right of Michigan citizens with a concealed pistol license to openly carry firearms in Michigan public schools.
In response to this court decision, you may also think, "there ought to be a law against that." The MEA and the public school employees we represent agree.
The decision was the result of a Clio parent's court challenge to Clio Area Schools' denial of his right to openly carry his pistol inside the elementary school when he came to pick up his daughter. The circuit judge based his ruling on a 2012 Michigan Court of Appeals decision which held that Lansing Public Libraries cannot prohibit citizens from openly carrying guns onto library property.
In the Clio case, the district argued that state law allows school districts to enact policies to safeguard students. Schools already prohibit students from bringing toy guns onto school property. The Clio school board felt that banning open carry of real firearms was certainly within their right to protect their students. The judge disagreed. In his decision, he ruled that the ban intruded upon the lawmaking authority of the state, which created laws to allow open carry of firearms on school grounds.
Michigan legislators have repeatedly relaxed restrictions on gun owners over the last several years. However, some legislators, including state Rep. Andy Schor, D-Lansing, feel they have gone too far. Schor is the sponsor of
House Bill 4261 (CLICK HERE to read the bill), which would ban openly carrying firearms in schools, saying, "we want to make sure our youth are not encountering guns in schools. It's not part of the educational process." Schor, a father of two and a gun owner, expressed his fear that "allowing openly-armed civilians to roam the halls of our schools is a recipe for disaster."
The recent court decision, allowing those with a concealed pistol license to openly carry, presents problems for both school employees and students. School employees do not know if someone openly carrying a firearm into the school building has a concealed carry permit, or what their intentions are. When they see someone entering the building with a firearm, their training and instincts tell them to protect their students by getting them out of the building or locking down their classrooms. Both school employees and school administrators support passage of legislation banning open carry of firearms in public schools.
It should be clear that with tragedies involving mass shootings in schools across the country, schools are not a place for gun owners to exercise their 2nd Amendment rights. The only people who should be allowed to carry firearms in public schools are police officers and school security personnel who are trained in the use of weapons for school safety.
Allowing guns to be openly carried in public schools only exacerbates the fear and uncertainty of both staff and students and does not provide students with the safe environment they need to focus on learning and exploring.
Enacting legislation banning guns in public schools would help provide that safe learning environment.
Republicans and Democrats should agree that
House Bill 4261 is a sensible fix to a dangerous loophole.
Steven Cook is President of the Michigan Education
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