Wayne LaPierre, executive vice president of the National Rifle Association states children had been put in danger by “law for gun-free school zones” and by having “unarmed principles.” There has been controversy about teachers being able to have a handgun in the classroom if anything were to happen. After the numerous accounts of school shooting such as the Sandy Hook shooting, parents are more concerned about their kid’s safety. Over 50,000 students attend school and are put in the care of their teachers and staff of the school they attend. Weapons, when placed in the hands of someone trained, creates a safe environment for students in the case of an incident that calls for weaponry help save a life.
Even though having weapons in a classroom supposedly increases the risk of kids getting their hands on the handgun, to save a life a teacher must be alert, and by having a handgun hidden but easily accessible, students will be kept safe. Being a student I want to feel safe at school and in a dangerous situation, knowing my teacher is alert and ready if a dangerous situation were to happen gives me a sense of protection. If an incident were to happen, you would want to know your child is safe. You would want to know that your child is in the hands of someone who is capable of protecting their life. According to the Huffington Post from 1994 to 2013 violent crimes have dropped roughly 50 percent, most of it occurring before 2004. As for school homicides according to a Justice Department study, they have dropped about the same percent over the period of 1992 to 2010. Most of this decline in criminality is caused by an increase in security over schools. By 2011, over 90 percent of all public schools had some kind of security measures.
In the Bill of Rights, the 2nd amendment states that you have the right to bear arms, meaning that if a teacher is given the correct training, they should be able to have a concealed handgun stowed away in the classroom in case of an emergency. Being a student and knowing my teacher was able to protect me under the law, I would want them to protect me in any way they can. Here’s a scenario, you’re a teacher and a normal day turns into a mass school shooting in the blink of eye. You have a gun stowed away to where you can access it with ease and you’re able to protect your students. Now compare this to you not having a gun stowed away for easy access and you not being able to protect your students and something happens. Knowing the chance to protect your students was given to you and you didn’t take advantage of it, and because of this someone got injured, you would have a guilty conscience. After the Sandy Hook school shooting, by the end of the week Virginia state legislators were introducing a bill to require at least some school officials to be armed. (New Yorker)
At the end of the day all that matters is the safety in schools and teachers being able to provide this safety. When thinking about this topic, remember how strong the want for student safety is a big deal all around the world. Knowing the controversy of the idea and how multiple schools have passed laws for their faculty and staff to get proper training to carry a handgun, if you want to be able to protect your student when they aren’t under your care, take initiative and call attention to the topic. Take time to talk to someone who has authority to change something. Take time to talk to your kid about the topic. Take time to research the topic. Take time to figure out how you can be the change.
(RE)flective Spin 