The Importance Of Carrking Weapons In Schools

Imagine a world where school shootings did not exist. Parents could send their children to school without having to worry about them being shot. In 2013, thirty school shootings took place in the United States. The most devastating school shooting in U.S. history was the Bath School shooting. On May 18, 1927, Andrew Kehoe entered the Bath Elementary School killing thirty-eight people and injuring fifty-eight. Kehoe then returned to his truck, and committed suicide by using explosives. School teachers would have a better chance, in high risk situations if they carried guns.

While the debate and argument over the carry on campus law continues, more and more concerns are surfacing about the jeopardy it could put our nation in. Are students even mature enough for the handling of weapons? Students are not to be trusted with guns and college campus should stay a gun-free zone. Carrying a gun in general requires responsibility that people of a young age sometimes tend not to have. The handling a firearm and a lack of responsibility within a person can be a very dangerous situation. Judgement and maturity of such a young group are things to consider when thinking about the carry on campus law and a student’s capability to make smart choices when handling a weapon can’t be trusted.

In 1998, among youth ages 10 to 19 in the United States, there were 2,601

This same technique is used later in the article to emphasize the fact that many college students use mind altering substances such as drugs and alcohol; and that adding firearms, concealed or not, would add a new variable to possible suicides and intra-student violence. In addition to all of these statistics, the author also uses reason to make the point that college classrooms are places where you should be able to speak freely and without fear of possible retaliation. The author feels that if students do not know who may or may not have a concealed weapon on them, they may be less likely to speak their mind and learn all that they can.

Students and staff with guns are not only a danger to other people, intentions malicious or not, but also to themselves. Students under high stress and emotional distress in general do not need to be around tools that can cause so much harm with so little effort. This argument, with the resounding knowledge of the high use of mind altering drugs on college campuses, mixed with the statistics surrounding the unhealthy psyche of students should be enough to show that campus carry is a bad

Schools are no longer a safe havens for furthering knowledge; instead violence is occurring at alarming rates. Common occurrences in schools include: physical altercations, severe property damage, and bullying behaviors. According to “ThefutureofChidren.org,” youth violence in schools costs the public 158 billion dollars each year. In this decade, that rate of children inflicting violence on other children and teachers is staggering. Today’s teachers are being trained on gun safety, school lobbies are being installed with bullet proof glass, and counselors hold

It provides opposing views of the need or lack thereof in regards to carrying a gun on college campuses. This study presents data for violent crimes on college campuses and compares it to the general public.

The problem of weapons and drugs in schools has become a serious problem in schools throughout the United States. Almost 20% of all students in high school report that they have carried a weapon at least once, and in the past two years there have been over 80 homicides committed on school grounds. Also, teenage drug use in America is the highest of any industrialized nation and it is only getting worse. After a decade of declining drug use, the use of all illegal drugs by teenagers has increased significantly. Sixty-one percent of seniors in high school report of having used drugs and the percentage of children using drugs by the sixth grade has tripled. "In a recent survey, 19 percent of

“Colleges and universities occupy a special place in American society. They are much more than a series of buildings and collection of individuals. Instead, they are dynamic living and learning environments where individuals with varying levels of maturity interact, often under stressful circumstances. While recognizing the right of responsible individuals to possess firearms under other circumstances, the unique characteristics of a university campus make the presence of firearms problematic. The shootings that have occurred in recent years at US colleges and universities have generated passionate debate about how best to prevent such violence and whether persons should be allowed to carry concealed guns on campuses. Experts believe there is no credible evidence that students or staff carrying guns would reduce crime. In fact, research has shown that the brains of most college students have not fully developed regarding impulse control and judgment” (Dickerson). Therefore, guns should not be allowed on college campuses because it would lead to an escalation in violent crime, distract from the learning environment, and lead to accidental discharge incidents.

That being said, this increased exposure to society leads to more exposure to threat. In 2009, David Ward, president of the American Council on Education, stated perfectly “The events of September 11, 2001, certainly changed the way campuses, as well as the rest of the country, view the issue of security.” He goes on, “the tragedy at Virginia Tech has put these issues at the forefront of our Nation’s consciousness (United States).” Many other events that have happened in American society raise awareness and concern towards societal terrorization also. In addition, in 2010, “an estimated 1,246,248 violent crimes occurred nationwide” and thirty-eight and a half percent of these crimes were robbery, forced rape, and homicide (U.S. Department of Justice). Because nineteen year olds are more exposed to danger in society, nineteen year olds should have a legal right to conceal a handgun for protection of the individual carrier and the public as a whole.

This analysis is based on the research study, Assessing School and Student Predictors of Weapons Reporting. In this study, Wylie, Gibson, Brank, Fondacaro, Smith, Brown, and Miller (2010) examined school violence in schools. These researchers looked at how schools were trying to reduce the violence and the many attempts to do so that had already been made. Most importantly, they looked at the willingness of students to report the violence. Wylie et al. (2010) took the idea of violence further and examined “how school characteristics may influence willingness to report weapon carrying” (p.352).

The number one goal is to increase physical surveillance. By increasing the physical surveillance in schools, this will help prevent youth from bring weapons on school property. Metal detectors and physical searches of student’s lockers and backpacks are not an uncommon practice in schools these days (“School Violence”, 2015). The larger the school the more common these methods are. However, some schools are not using metal detectors and performing searches because they have found that it increases student’s fears and anxiety levels (“School Violence”, 2015). In conclusions weapons deterrence may increase physical safety, but it may increase psychological problems in the future (“School Violence”, 2015).

Every day students across the country wake up and go to school seeking an education. They learn basic skills and knowledge from classes such as English, math, biology, physics, photography and so many other classes that prepare students for adulthood. However, what is most alarming is that students have to cope with violence that is now occurring in schools. In the past, school violence involved bullying and mistreatment, but in recent decades weapons are now a part of the violence students encounter. Violence is a way for youth to gain authority over their peers. Additionally, violence in schools has promoted a national debate on gun control, bullying and plagued the overall learning experience in school environments. Not only do people need

Students are taught how to read and write but not how to properly handle weapons or situations involving them. “In most school shootings, the teenage shooters were first introduced to guns in their own homes. In some cases, teens involved in violent incidents steal the weapons they use from their parents. In other cases they are actually given the weapons” (Croft 35). If teens were properly taught how to use weapons, then they would be less likely to mistreat them. They would know the right and wrong thing to do when guns are involved. Even if the weapon is not a gun teens should still be taught about it and how to properly handle it as well as the correct and incorrect uses for that particular weapon. Many students do not understand the seriousness of the weapons they hold. A fourteen year old kid from Washington took two of his father's guns to school and shot his algebra teacher as well as two students. His friends had claimed that he played with guns like they were toys, not the deadly weapons they really are (Croft 36). Many students do not understand that death is a permanent thing, a weapon safety class may be able to demonstrate to students the harsh reality surrounding weapons and death and the turmoil left within family and friends after the fact. However, parents may be against the idea of their children being educated on such a topic. Some parents may

School violence, in recent history, seems to have taken the United States by storm. Be it a shooting, such as the Columbine High School shooting in 1999, the inappropriate relationships between teacher and student, such as Stephanie Figueroa whom initiated one such relationship with her 11-year-old karate student, or the multiple fights we see on social media that take place in schools. With each passing week, we see a new story that falls in one of these categories. Today, we look at the types of, causes of and how to prevent violence in what should be a safe place and second home for our youth.