While sitting with my father earlier today at his house the news came on tv. Most of it was bland news crap, as usual, but then appeared a man discussing the possibility of passing a law to allow people with licenses to carry concealed weapons to carry guns into schools, even elementary schools. He then went on to say that he feels that allowing this law to pass could prevent another event like Virginia Tech. He feels that if a teacher would have had access to a weapon it could have been stopped.
Well where to start on this.
Yes, the Virginia Tech incident could have been less severe if there were a responsible teacher with permit to carry a gun onto grounds that could have stopped the young man before so many suffered, but it would NOT have stopped it. Having means to protect yourself and your students is quite understandable and at this time some feel it is needed in order to feel comfortable in the classroom, but allowing guns on campus may not be that way. By passing this law you would not only give the teachers the opportunity to carry weapons, but the students as well? I understand that they have to be licensed to carry a concealed weapon, but that does not mean that everyone that is licensed will use a weapon just for protection. Nobody can honestly pick out who will use a weapon responsibly or use it as a weapon of terror. And what boggles my mind is that they are going to pass this law for ALL levels of schools, down to elementary schools. Since when was elementary school so rough that we had to have weapon-toting teachers passing out the finger paints? It just seems a bit too extreme. I feel that there is no level of destructive behavior residing in an elementary school that you would allow teachers to walk the halls with guns on their belts. What kind of message would that send to the children? What would happen if a teacher let a curious student get too close to a weapon? Younger children should not be exposed to this. They do not understand it enough to accept that it is ok and for their welfare. It may seem to work in older childrenyoung adults, as in high schools and college campuses. It may show them that you are no longer afraid of them. It may show them that you are willing to protect them. It may also show them that all they would have to do to shoot up the school is somehow take out a teacher and obtain their weapon. It seems that they are attempting to make the schools more like prisons and the teachers more like guards. Is it all really necessary? Could a teacher really shoot a student to protect the others or would they freeze up and not know what to do? Would a teacher even know the proper ways to handle a gun and if not would the school pay to train them in it? Could they just be putting the students at more risk than they are helping them? It just seems that there are so many questions that are unanswered about the topic and that the lawmakers haven't considered most of what may come to be from this law. I know that schools have gotten more violent since I have been there but I am not sure if SC leaders are making the right decision in fixing the problem, in fact they may be making it worse. If teachers are able to carry guns, soon the students will be too and then who will be unarmed? I do not think that they should instill this kind of paranoia on people. You pass the law, a paranoid teacher with an itchy finger gets a gun, a student gets out of line, and what could come out of it? They cannot just expect it to work without requiring some sort of training in weapons for the teachers that wish to carry a gun. Guns don't kill people, guns in the wrong hands do. I honestly hope that lawmakers put a bit more thinking into this law before just passing it. I hope they discuss this with schools, administrators, even students to see what an impact it may have-good or bad.
All in all I was just bewildered when I heard that such a thing was soon to be passed without anyone knowing about it, especially parents. If I were a parent of a child in school I would want to be forewarned of any laws taking place in schools that may affect my child and hisher education. I would not be able to tell you how I would feel as a student walking the halls of the school and watching teachers behind their desks with guns on their belts. It would shock me. It may make some students feel safer while it makes others more paranoid. There is just no middle ground to meet. Parents want their children to be safe, but do we honestly have to implant weapons into the school systems to achieve that?
