There has
been a rapid increase in the incidences of gun violence in our educational
institutions. The number of occurrences has been on the rise for the past 25
years (CFR). What is even more worrying is the fact that there is no way to
ascertain the age of potential perpetrators. For instance, on February 29th,
2000, a 6 year old boy shot and killed another 6 year old girl in an elementary
school in Michigan. Following the likes of Texas and some other States, this
summer, the State of Pennsylvania may begin allowing faculty and staff at
schools an access to firearms in the buildings and grounds of the school. This
is an attempt to give school districts more options to keep students safe but
it is worth questioning if it is a viable option.
Gun Control
To
understand the problem, it will be appropriate to look into the recent history.
Gun control is a sensitive issue in America and people have been discussing the
pros and cons of the interpretation given to the Second Amendment for many
decades. The Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution states that "A
well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the
right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." Some
people believe that the interpretation given to the Second Amendment and gun
laws is obsolete and there should be a massive crackdown on both the easy availability
of the firearms as well as the manner in which they can be obtained. On the
other hand, a number of gun advocates regard ownership of gun as a birthright
and an essential part of the nation's heritage. Whichever side one may choose,
there is no denying the fact that the United States, has about 50 percent of
the world's civilian-owned guns even though it has less than 5 percent of the
world’s population (Small Arms Survey). The United States ranks No. 1 in
firearms per capita. That roughly translates into having one gun for almost
every single person the United States. The Federal law sets the minimum
standards for firearm regulation in the
United States (The Gun Control Act of 1968 as amended), but the states can have
their own laws, making the ownership more restrictive or lenient. In other
words, the number of firearms in the country is very high and they can be
easily obtained in most states with minimum background checks.
Sandy Hook Tragedy
In one of
the deadliest mass shootings by a single person, On Dec. 14, 2012, a 20 year
old boy named Adam Lanza stole her mother’s guns and shot her with them. He
then stole her car and went to Sandy Hook Elementary School where he fatally shot and murdered 20 children between six and seven
years old, as well as six adult staff members in Newtown, Conn. before shooting
himself. This horrific incident sparked a national debate on gun violence and means
to ensure that such tragedy does not take place again. Both the gun control
advocates and as well as those who support gun rights, came together to express
shock and grief at the incident. However, they took very divergent views on the
issue of how to save lives by maintaining peace and security in our nation.
The Obama
administration called to limit the availability of military-style weapons soon
after the incident. Senator Dianne Feinstein of California proposed a legislation
to ban the sale and manufacture of many semiautomatic weapons, as well as
magazines holding more than 10 rounds of ammunition. However, compromise
legislation that would have banned semiautomatic
assault weapons and expanded
background checks on the civilians intending to purchase firearms was defeated
in the Senate in 2013.
Senate Bill 383
After a
few years of status quo, Senator Don White has introduced Senate Bill 283 in
direct response to the Sandy Hook tragedy of 2012. His proposed amendment to
the Public School Code of 1949 will allow Districts to have school personnel
carry firearms in the buildings or grounds of the school. This has reignited
the debate on whether the campus of an educational institution should have
firearms even if it is meant for protection and defense of pupils. The supporters of the Bill state that there
exists no empirical evidence to show that gun violence increases after
concealed weapons are allowed on the campus but what is really worrying is the
effect that the presence of guns will have on teaching and learning. There is
no telling how the presence of guns will affect the learning environments. Will
it still be places where men and women freely express their ideas or will it be
a place full of dread and suspicion?
The bill
might create more problems than it seeks to remedy. First of all, in an
incident such as Alex Hribal's knifing of fellow students at Franklin Regional High
School, armed teachers would have served no purpose. Even the best trained
police officials will be hesitant to shoot towards the crowd of students. It
would be even more catastrophic if the attacker finds an extra loaded gun. Moreover,
there’s also an issue of where would you safely keep a loaded firearm which is
easily accessible to the teacher-guard but away from all the students. There’s
also the problem of the first responder Police officials that may not be able
to distinguish the armed perpetrator from the armed teacher. In a report on
20/20 by ABC News, it was shown that even the police officers that are not in
regular training, cannot respond properly to a sudden attack under stress.
There’s no guarantee that the teacher-guard will be able to do any better. During
such an event, the faculty carrying the firearm will only be put in the harm’s
way and may even miss the target and cause more injuries. In essence, the Bill
merely promises an illusory safety but actually has a lot of potential for
tragedy.
Australia: An alternate solution
The worst
case of mass shooting in Australia’s history was the Port Arthur massacre of
April 1996, when a young man killed 35 people and wounded 23 others using a
semiautomatic rifle. The rampage, sparked massive gun control regulations and
gun buyback programs by pushing through fundamental changes to the country's
gun laws in cooperation with the various states, which regulate firearms. Many
analysts say these measures have been highly effective, citing a decline of 72
percent in the gun-related deaths (Reuters). The Country has no instance of
mass shooting since then. Countries like the United Kingdom, Norway, Canada and
Japan have also introduced some gun-control laws. Many suggest that the path
taken by Australian Government in response to Port Arthur Tragedy could serve
as a model for the United States.
Conclusion
Thus the
question is, should the teachers be armed? I believe that teachers should not
be saddled with an additional duty to dash out and protect others. Teachers in
our educational institutes are already burdened with the immense responsibility
to build the character of their students who are the future of this great
nation. A campus should be a melting pot of ideas and opinions and not
vigilantes. Firstly, there is no way to make the firearm easily accessible to
teacher but away from students; secondly, in panic situation, under stress,
even a professional guard or police has a difficult time in guarding himself
and shooting the perpetrator and lastly, it is unfair on the overburdened and
underpaid teachers to be made to act as vigilantes. Our teachers are already
heroes they don’t need a firearm for that.
Work
Cited:
[1] Senate Bill 383
http://www.legis.state.pa.us/CFDOCS/Legis/PN/Public/btCheck.cfm?txtType=PDF&sessYr=2017&sessInd=0&billBody=S&billTyp=B&billNbr=0383&pn=0373
[2] “Should
Guns Be Permitted on College Campuses?”
https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2016/05/31/should-guns-be-permitted-on-college-campuses
[3] “Teachers
with guns? Senate Bill 383 gives OK in Pa.”
http://triblive.com/local/westmoreland/12216286-74/teachers-with-guns-senate-bill-383-gives-ok-in-pa
[4] 'If I Only Had a Gun': 20/20 Special, ABC
News
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezzskoEB0Gc
[5] “U.S.
Gun Policy: Global Comparison”
http://www.cfr.org/society-and-culture/us-gun-policy-global-comparisons/p29735
[6] “20
Children Died in Newtown, Conn.,
School Massacre”
http://abcnews.go.com/US/twenty-children-died-newtown-connecticut-school-shooting/story?id=17973836
[7]. "Senator Unveils Bill to Limit Semiautomatic
Arms"
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/25/us/politics/senator-unveils-bill-to-limit-semiautomatic-arms.html
[8] “Australia data shows gun controls a huge success 20 years after mass
shooting”
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-australia-guns-idUSKCN0XP0HG
