The Importance Of Gun Control Laws 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.

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.

Allowing teachers to carry guns will allow teachers to prevent school shootings on the grounds of preschool through college campuses. Everyone has their own opinion about teachers being able to carry guns including other teachers, parents, and government officials. Depending on what state the teacher is teaching in determines if they can carry their gun now, if they are in the process of being able to, or if their state is not passing a law to allow them to carry their gun while at school. Teachers would not stand out like police officers or security officers would while in the school which would allow for other teachers and all of the students to have normal days if schools did not have officers before. Research shows that allowing some teachers to carry guns in their school promotes school safety, protects the teachers and students, and promotes gun safety while still teaching their students.

One of the largest barriers for firearm carriers is the fear of them causing panic; this panic is caused by other civilians being afraid if they see that they are carrying and mistake them for an armed assailant. Awareness to all students and faculty that campus carry is in place will keep this from happening and will allow more firearms advocates to be willing to carry. People who already legally conceal carry would not be afraid to continue that practice if there are no laws stopping them. One example of a regular carrier being a victim due to them following the law of no campus carry is Amanda Collins. Amanda, a student of the University of Nevada, was raped on campus and could do little since she was not carrying like she usually does(Summers). This incident and others could easily be stopped if campus carry were in place and known to all whom it might affect. Awareness to the general public that concealed carry is allowed would also have a high chance of deterring crime. The truth is that signs that say “no guns allowed” is not going to stop a criminal since with their nature they break the law(Burnett). States that implement concealed carry laws have reduced several different crimes by up to 8.5 percent(ProCon). Criminals want easy targets and knowing that the person they choose to attack may be able to defend themselves with an easy means of defense such as a gun that deters them from those areas. All of these points lead to the end goal of students and faculty feeling safer and it is a fact that up to 59 percent of people who carry a gun because it makes them feel safer(ProCon). The feeling of safety not only occurs for those who carry but those who know that anyone could be there with a gun to assist or save them should the occasion occur. Colleges are dangerous places with no

Some students and teachers cannot be trusted in places like schools with them. A large number of supporters are not looking at the other solutions to this issue, such as therapy and social groups for students with behavioral problems. Schools should be a safe place to be, and students cannot feel that safety not knowing if the person next to them has a gun or not. After the Columbine shooting in 1999, the public and school boards all over the country started to believe more firearms in schools would solve every gun related incident. Supporters are being especially ignorant are not looking at the other ways to prevent shootings from occurring. Shootings are terrifying for everyone. With simple actions, they could be prevented easily through counseling and therapy to those who are potential perpetrators. Guns cannot be the only

In the “Allowing Guns Won’t Make Campuses Safer” article, the president of Drexel University in Philadelphia John A. Fry, who happens to be the author of this article, made plenty valid points to support his point of view. He goes back into recent American history and provides incidents where guns have led to extreme violence. For example, last year a student killed six and injured thirteen near the University of California in Santa Barbara. Another incident was in 2013 when a twenty-three year old shot his father and brother before killing three others at Santa Monica College, and that is just to name a few. Mr. Fry said, “Only in America do we respond to shootings with the need for more guns. Arming college campuses will do little to reduce mass attacks, and will likely lead to more shooting deaths” revealing his stance on guns on campuses and in our country.

Although most people have argued that gun control laws should be regulated in schools, closer examination shows that having trained/licensed faculty could prevent further shootings. All school faculty should go through an examination process where not only is their mental health checked but they are also licensed to have a gun. A lot debate that it is going to cost a great amount of money to be able to administer these licenses but with a small budget reduction for other activities the efforts can be made to make a safer environment for any student and employee. Looking back to all school shootings there was one key element missing in all of them: Protection within the school. Multiple examples from Columbine High School shooting or Sandy Brooks

In 2015, a school shooting in Franklin, North Carolina occurred. At South Macon Elementary School, two suspects, Adam Conley and Kathryn Jeter, had told the sheriff and other investigators, “it was God’s will to shoot children and teachers”. Unfortunately, the sheriff had found the stray cat that all the students loved, dead from a gunshot wound. One of the suspects had told the sheriff, “the cat was defective”. Thankfully, no other injuries were sustained during the shooting. Attacks like this happen an average of every week throughout the United States. However, by arming teachers and having guns used for protection in schools, these occurrences would be fewer. It is less likely to happen, if the attacker knows someone on the other side is ready to fire back.

98% percent of robberies and murders happen in gun free-zones. The LA school shooting that happened on February first, this was stopped because the shooter was overheard by a security guard and he notified the school and police. The shooter came to school one day he had injured 4 people and the security guard had then shot the shooter before any more people were injured.(The Simple Truth) This shows that if schools had a security guard or if the teachers were are armed it would be less likely for the attacker to succeed. (The School Safety Bill) If the parkland shooting would have looked at the signs and had an armed security guard, I believe it wouldn’t have happened or been near as severe. Another example of people bearing arms and it showing the crime and Murder rate will go down, is that Switzerland has no gun free zones and allows people to bear arms after they take a course. They have the lowest murder rate in the world. There was only one gun related death last year, and only 47 people were injured from them. (The Simple Truth) An example of how if we ban guns it won’t help anything is in Australia. Their government banned guns and the crime and murder rate has gone up by almost 30% and the crime rate with knives and other weapons has gone over 60% percent of the crimes, which means that 40% of the other crimes are still committed with guns. (The Simple

“Evil does not exist within a gun. It exists in the minds and hearts of those who pull the trigger for evil purposes.”- Samuel L. Jackson. People seem to think that guns are the problem when really the person behind it is the problem. Guns are made for us to protect ourselves when danger is near not for us to use it when we want to harm others. The school shooting has been a big deal for the last couple of months. It doesn’t seem to make sense for people to do those horrible things to students who go to school to get an education. People who use guns to commit a massacre end up killing themselves after they are done. We end up finding out that the person who committed the mass murder had mental issues and didn’t know what he/she was doing. Students are afraid of going to

Events like the school shootings in Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois University have brought some fear into the Students for Gun Free Schools. Recent controversy on Concealed Carry within school grounds has some students feeling safe while others feel like they're stepping into a war zone waiting to erupt. Discomfort, increased risks, and flawed background checks- all these problems have led me to side against Concealed Carry, because without guns, we would be safer.

With or without guns people are going to continue being violent. The government can reduce shootings deaths by imposing restrictions that are common sense on gun access that does not violate the Second Amendment. Furthermore, imposing strict restrictions will only benefit criminals by taking away bear arms for those who could eventually save someone’s life. (“Gun Control Laws”). Gun control laws have been a big argument between Democrats and Republicans because of their beliefs. People for gun control laws believe that it would not save lives, it would not prevent school shootings, and it would not help self-defense laws.

Middle Schools gets shot up by young male, former Seal shot and killed, 5 men shot and killed. It over flows the news and different people withholding different thoughts are reacting to the scenarios in different ways. If you look into the eyes of all the people that have shot up a school or are convicted of a murder, you can clearly examine the insanity lying within them. People riot the streets of the biggest cities blurting out, “Disarm all citizens” or “Ban all Guns” and these people don’t realize that the guns aren’t the reason these people are dying. The real reason behind all these killings is that there are people out there with serious health condition

Although there are many ways that schools can assist students with mental illnesses, their hands are also tied. For the amount of concern many Americans and politicians show for the failing healthcare system, there is a lack of funding and a shortage of school counselors, allowing for school violence to continue. Schools are educational settings, not clinical settings, and so they do not have the authority to provide treatment services to students, as they are unable to obtain malpractice coverage, making them liable for any incidents that would occur. There is only so much a school can do for a student who has a serious mental illness such as:

In fact, allowing concealed handguns increases crime, guns on campus will cause students to be unaware of their surroundings. In “Concealed Carry Laws Proliferate on Campus” Tim Goral claims, “More weapons on campus may result in more frequent emergency alerts and possible lockdowns, which will disrupt our academic mission and will adversely impact student success” (19).  Authorizing concealed guns on campus would add disruptions during class time which will cause students to have nerves in class and not focus at their full potential. In “Student Perceptions and Practices Regarding Carrying Handguns on University Campuses” Amy Thompson claims, “Researchers have also shown that where there are more guns present, there are more accidental gun deaths. Additionally, for every fatal accidental shooting, there are more that 10 people seriously injured to the extent that they needed to be treated in a hospital”(252). Not all students are fully developed enough to comprehend every situation they’re in, some may know to do or say, others might not and allowing students to bring their concealed guns can cause a immature situation into a lifetime in jail. Weapons on campus tend to cause commotion and fear, students can feel uncomfortable and be more likely stressed if they knew that anyone in their class can walk in with a concealed handgun and be used at any moment if that person is triggered (Goral 19). Classrooms should feel safe not uncomfortable. Schools are safe zones. Why add a rifle that can higher chances of crime?