Pros And Cons Of Guns In Schools

Teachers should not be allowed to carry a concealed weapon in school even if it is registered and the teacher has had training with firearms. However, with a recent jump in school shootings many officials are debating implementing armed teachers. If educators carry firearms, schools will no longer be a safe trusted place to learn, firearms and their liabilities would be a great cost to the school, and it would be easy access for someone, namely the students, to steal the weapons.

Imagine the notion of being defenseless against an individual holding the purpose of wreaking mass devastation on the students and faculty inside of a school. In 2012, Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut endured a tragedy that carries historical significance to the notion of shielding those inside of a classroom in a worst-case situation. When twenty-six students had their life taken away during a school massacre, the thought of permitting teachers to carry handguns during class drew more consideration than ever. The safety of the students inside of a school facility may be in jeopardy as manifested in school shootings such as the ones which transpired at Sandy Hook Elementary School and Virginia Tech, where thirty-two students and teachers lost their lives (History.com). While many feel that presenting teachers with handguns may prove harmful to safety efforts, inflicting such standards would provide instructors and students equally with enhanced protection and overall security.

My second reason as to why teachers should be allowed to carry a concealed weapon is that it has worked for other countries. Israel and Thailand actually encourage their teachers to carry weapons. There was an article in 2004 in the National Review that is about how Israel and Thailand are set examples of arming teachers. The article stated that, “Though Thailand’s government is extremely hostile to gun ownership in general, it has recognized that teachers ought to be able to safeguard their students and themselves.” I agree with this. Teachers should be allowed to protect their students and themselves and if allowing the teachers to carry a concealed weapon will protect them then let them do it. The article also stated that, “Terrorist attacks on schools and school children could almost be completely eliminated in a very short time.” There are examples of attacks on schools that have failed. In

The Columbine school shooting happened at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado on April 21, 1999. Two students, Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris, went into their school with guns and explosives with the intentions of killing as many people as possible. The two students killed twelve students, one teacher, and injured many more students before each of the shooters committed suicide (Curtis 3). If a teacher was given the right training and carrying a firearm, they could have stopped Klebold and Harris sooner and less students would have been wounded and murdered.

Guns and schools just don’t mix. Of course, this could be arguable from both sides. Only nine out of our fifty states allow guns on campus. Most private universities have the choice to decide if they want to allow concealed weapons on campuses. As for public institutions with the law in its state, they have no choice. Public institutions only have control of what buildings are limited. There are numerous reasons that it could be beneficial, but it can also be a complete catastrophe just waiting to happen. In today’s society, people feel the need to be more protected because of what’s going on in the world. There have been many reported incidents in regards to guns being abused on school grounds. Guns end lives, so it’s imperative that we understand the rules and why they’re so important. In order for people to really understand the pros and cons of having guns on campus, they first must began to understand its safety hazards, retaliation and prevention mechanism.

During the past few years, the number of school shootings has increased markedly. In 2013, there were 19 school shootings that occurred, taking so many innocent lives. Some may remember the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting on December 14th, 2013. It was the second deadliest massacre shooting in United States history, behind the 2007 Virginia Tech Massacre. Adam Lanza shot twenty children, six staff, his mother, and himself that day. School shootings are tragic. Violence continues to increase with these shootings, as well as with violence within the schools among the students. The big question is, how do we protect ourselves from these horrible occurrences? How do teachers protect the innocent lives of their students? One common suggestion is for the teachers and administration to be armed. The premise is that if the school staff has possession of firearms this would discourage shooters, thereby making the schools much safer. However, it is my belief that teachers should not be able to have access to weapons. There should never be any type firearm on a school property, excluding trained security personnel, such as police officers and security guards.

Numerous studies have been conducted to determine if teachers should be in possession of a firearm while on school properties and if this will decrease the number and magnitude of school shootings. Many scholars believe equipping teachers with firearms will be costly and end up unnecessarily endangering more students, but many scholars claim that a teacher should be the last line of defense against a school shooter. The question this paper hopes to answer is how can equipping teachers who teach grades K-12 help to prevent school shootings in the United States. This paper will attempt to answer that question by examining the perspectives of school administration and law enforcement, the impact on student’s safety and education, the

School shootings are terrifying and a big problem in today’s society. Schools have added lockdown drills, bullet proof glass and metal detectors. School should be a safe area for children to learn instead of fearing for their life. Instead of buying metal detectors and hiring more officers, there is a much easier solution in order to decrease and prevent school shootings. We have to be more alert about securing weapons at home and being aware of suspicious behavior at school in order to keep children and faculty safe.

A school's staff are our children's first and foremost defense against violent attacks. Posting "Gun Free Zone" signs has proven time and time again, that it will not stop a criminal from leaving a trail of victims. Leaving our staff untrained and unarmed ultimatley leaves all those in the school vulnerable, defenseless, and in the position to potentially be harmed, or worse, killed. Arming our teachers, prinicipals, and staff will give our children and all else in the school a chance to fight for their lives, if ever threatned.

Every day parents send their children off to school with the expectation that they will be returned home safely at the end of the day. However, with an ever increasing number of school shootings some parents are pulling their children out of school because they feel as if school can no longer offer the same sense of security as they once had. Some schools are pressing for the right for school instructors to carry a loaded weapon on campus. School instructors should be allowed to carry a loaded weapon on campus because it helps prevent school shootings, it protects them during school shootings, and gives students and staff an added sense of security.

“ A 20 - year old man armed with an AK- 47- style rifle and 500 rounds of ammunition entered an elementary school in Decatur, Ga, on Aug. 20 and fired off a few rounds but surrendered before anyone was injured” (Toppo, 2013, para.2). Because of school shooting like Sandy Hook and many others, schools all around are finding ways to become more prepared in case of this kind of tragedy. Many options have been discussed but a common idea to keep students and staff safe in schools is allowing teachers and administrators to be licenced and to conceal a gun on school property. “While many national organizations have rejected the idea, it is now being seriously weighed by some school boards and state lawmakers across the nation” (Shah, 2013, para.5). Teachers and Administrators should be allowed to carry guns on school property because police stations are too far away and It will increase the amount of safety when given proper training.

So yes, legally teachers have the right to be armed if their school board agrees with it and certifies. But why would they want to arm them? Yes, to protect our students but there is just so much that would cause issues. Law enforcement only has an 18% accuracy rating when the opposite opponent is firing back according to the RAND Corporation’s evaluation of the New York Police department. It shows that even a highly trained professional law enforcement officer has trouble shooting a suspect in highly stressful

Teachers should have the choice of whether or not to have guns. Some teachers don’t want to bare the burden of having to kill someone. Mrs. Frye from Waupun Area Junior/Senior High strongly hinted at to her students that, “[she]... doesn’t feel comfortable with guns.”. And when she was questioned about whom she would trust she said that “My husband [who also works at the school] would be able to”.

Teachers need to be armed everyday at school. Teachers need to protect the students because we don’t want it to happen like in Parkland, Florida Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Arming teachers is a great idea than having a security because what if the shooter passes the security, and he or

Over the past several years gun violence in schools has been led into many news stories. From the 1999 Columbine Shooting in Colorado to the Sandy Hook Massacre in Massachusetts, the death of students by armed intruders has ignited a debate among many Americans. At the root of this argument is the question: Should teachers and school staff be armed? Some argue schools would be safer if this occurs. The fact of the matter is; it would make schools a more dangerous place to be. Placing untrained individuals into a stressful school environment where their decisions have life or death consequences is a horrible idea.