Guns are not a solution
By: Josh Wilder. He can be reached at
[email protected].
Issue date: 9/25/07 Section: Editorial / Opinion
It has been almost a year since the gruesome school house shootings in the Amish community of Bart Township, PA shocked the nation. Violence in schools has been an issue of concern since the Columbine tragedy, but this massacre caught everyone off guard.
While you can never "predict" where or when such a shooting would take place, the fact that a gunman would choose a one-room Amish school house proved that no school in the country is safe. Whether you are in the suburbs of a city like Boston or in the middle of rural America, the potential for violence comes along for the ride.
A grim reminder of the questionable safety of our schools, the shootings raised the question: How can we prevent these tragedies from happening in the future? The subsequent shooting spree at Virginia Tech showed that we still haven't figured that out yet. The issue rages on today, with various "solutions" being offered.
A teacher in Ashland, Ore. has offered her thoughts on the subject, and are quite possibly the worst ideas to date. This teacher, who is known by the pseudonym "Jane Doe" in court and newspaper articles, wants to bring her 9-mm pistol to school with her while she teaches.
She originally got the gun to protect herself from an ex-husband who has frequently threatened her with violence. There is only one problem, though - the law in her district states that only law enforcement officials can bring guns into schools.
Well, that didn't sit well with Ms. Doe, and she has decided to challenge the school district in court. And lucky for her, now she has some supporters.
Like always, those wacky NRA nut jobs have found a way to get involved in the situation and now are turning it into a Second-Amendment showdown.
This issue isn't really about the right to carry guns because, well, for starters, that right will never be revoked or changed. This really comes down to logic - sitting down like big boys and girls and talking about an issue intelligently.
How do we protect students in schools? Jane Doe and the NRA are arguing that giving guns to the teachers will give them the power to regulate such violence; and in case another kid snaps during fifth period, they will be there to pop a cap immediately.
Guns don't kill people; people kill people. Well that is true, but the guns sure make it easier. The problem with this rationale is that you are trying to stop school shootings by putting more guns - the tool used for shootings - in the school, the place where the shootings take place.
Say your buddy is trying to cut back and lose a few pounds. 'Today is the day I lose the weight,' he says, as he fills his house with Oreos, Ring Dings and peanut butter cups. He is surrounding himself with the things he is trying to avoid.
Of course, some will say teachers are responsible, stable figures, so we should give them guns to mediate a situation. From my experience in school as a child, I can tell you that many teachers are completely off the wall. Some are great people, but many are high-strung, overworked control freaks. They need vacations, not guns. Not to mention the teachers who have sex with students - not the most grounded folks.
Let's follow this dangerous line of thinking a little farther. Campus safety is on everyone's minds these days, and the University of Massachusetts is as susceptible as any other university. So in order to make the area safer for students, how about giving guns not just to the professors but to the students also?
You check in on move-in day and get an assignment book, key and a gun. But it is a B.Y.O.B. affair - bring your own bullets, of course. Upperclassmen get bigger guns, since they have paid their dues. If anyone around here thought about trying something, they would know that everyone else had a gun too. Problem solved, right?
This example, while perhaps far-fetched, illustrates the crux of this issue. Bringing guns to school is a reactive solution, not proactive. If lawmakers are serious about implementing safety measures in schools, they could start with some common sense.
Instead of giving teachers guns, why not give students bulletproof vests? Sure they might be bulky, but does anyone doubt that students would feel safer if they knew they had a safety net like that?
Or what about installing shields on the desks or putting metal detectors at the entrances to schools? These ideas are really common sense; it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure it out.
Americans love guns and the right to use them, but those who deny the role they play in school violence are kidding themselves. If we are serious about preventing further tragedies, we need to put the guns down and pick up our thinking caps.
