Gun violence in the U.S. has become an epidemic. The U.S. leads the world in almost every firearm violence category. With almost twice as many guns as citizens, we need a change. According to the Pew Research Center, an average of 45,000 people die by gun use every year in the United States. One of the most common settings of such deadly shootings is, sadly, schools. We all saw in March of 2023, The Covenant School shooting which ended with 3 kids and 3 adults left dead. So, what have American politics proposed in order to solve this very obvious problem?
Besides their most common response of “Support the 2nd Amendment,” Republican lawmakers across the country have proposed bills with a “unique solution.” The proposed plan, which has already appeared on Republican platforms, is to arm the educators themselves.
At first glance, to some, this may seem like a way to counter the Democrats’ argument to enforce gun control. It’s all too familiar when the NRA employees’ only defense is that the 2nd Amendment of the Constitution should be upheld, which allows all Americans the right to bear arms. That being said, it is important to note that 99.7% of all National Rifle Association donations have gone to Republicans, totaling over $50 million per year in lobbying. Yes, we all deserve our own rights as human beings and American citizens, but at what cost?
Pew Research Center found that around 60% of all adults in the U.S. oppose the idea. More interestingly, 54% out of roughly 3,000 total polled teachers oppose the idea saying they feel the change would actually, “make students less safe.” Alternatively, 20% of teachers are in favor of the idea with the remaining 26% not having a strong opinion on the subject.
Areas in Texas have already implemented the policy. Over 300 counties there have armed educators. Since the passing, the percentage of school shootings per amount of schools hasn’t changed. Where 35.5% of the population owns a firearm, there have been 165 school shootings this year in Texas for second-most in the U.S. The rate has actually gone up from last year. In a Democratic state, New York, with a similar enough population and a much lower gun-ownership rate at 14.5%, has the 8th-most school shootings in the U.S. with the third-highest population.
It goes without saying that safety is the biggest concern. The organization conducting the research, Everytown, demonstrates that a high percentage of those working in the setting being questioned firmly believe that placing guns in classrooms could be even more dangerous. 130 children die every year from unintentional shootings, and by far the most horrifying statistic is that having access to guns triples the risk of suicide. This is a disease in our country, and we have yet to pass a real solution through Congress.
Would you feel comfortable with your teachers carrying a concealed weapon while at school? Should teachers need to go through special training as a firearm specialist in order to become an educator from now on? Is this the safest option? And finally, is this a more efficient or safer way to deal with gun violence rather than banning automatic weapons?
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