28 January 2013
GUNS: Allowing teachers to hold guns on campus is not a plausible solution.
By Amy Wang, Staff Writer
Fighting fire with fire only creates a bigger fire. Or in this case, more guns only create more problems. Following the Newton, Connecticut elementary school shooting, the government has been trying to find ways to prevent another tragedy like this from occurring. From tighter gun laws to heightened security, its intentions are sincere, but sometimes downright ridiculous.
Among the list of proposed changes are plans to allow more guns around school. One suggestion is to let those at the front office, particularly the principal, have a gun on hand in case of emergencies. Others call for armed guards on campus. In some Texas schools, teachers already carry guns to school every day – a practice some want to instate in other places as well.
However, this idea only offers more harm than help. Say a teacher has a gun at school. It would have to be locked away so that students cannot access it. The teacher would have to be taught how to control and aim the firearm; and if the teacher actually was confronted with a threat, the amount of time it would take for the teacher to get the gun out and actually muster the nerve to shoot would be far too long.
And that’s not to mention how difficult it is for the average person to actually shoot someone, even for safety reasons. Studies have shown that even soldiers coming back from war suffer traumatic memories from killing other men, or from seeing the dead afterwards. Police officers, who are taught only to shoot when lives are at risk (which is the mentality the teachers would follow), suffer Post Shooting Trauma. The morality of the average person makes it very hard to take another person’s life, regardless of the circumstances.
Mix in the chances of someone breaking into the gun’s hiding place to wreak havoc, or even the teacher cracking due to a mental setback and using the gun to harm the students. The end result shows that there are almost no benefits to allowing teachers to carry guns.
After horrifying tragedies, people are desperate to find ways to prevent further grief. But even though they mean well, sometimes their ideas hold no logic. Putting guns in schools – and into the community – is counterproductive. Instead, lawmakers should place their focus upon stricter gun laws, not on preventing firearms from falling into the wrong hands.
Remember: Guns are not the answer. They are the problem.