Bulletproof Backpacks, Armed Security at Schools?

The Washington Post reported that following the tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School on Dec. 14, the sale of bulletproof backpacks sored.

Bullet Blocker, a company that sells these backpacks, reported a jump in sales following the shooting from 15 to 20 backpacks a week to 50 to 100 per day.

In Arizona, Amendment II, a body-armor manufacturer, reported its sales of bulletproof backpacks had jumped more than 500 percent, and the Washington Post reported a survivalist company in New Hampshire is promoting armored backpack inserts.

In a recent press conference, the National Rifle Association called on citizens to arm those in positions of authority who safeguard our children.

"We care about our President, so we protect him with armed Secret Service agents," NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre said. "Members of Congress work in offices surrounded by Capitol Police officers. Yet, when it comes to our most beloved, innocent, and vulnerable members of the American family, our children, we as a society leave them every day utterly defenseless, and the monsters and the predators of the world know it, and exploit it."

So is this what we have come to now, bulletproof backpacks and armed security guarding our children as they learn? What are your views on these measures — the obvious answer to today's violent society? Or do you think there is another way to address these issues?