After the school shooting that happened at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Valentine's Day, President Donald Trump proposed an idea of giving teachers the ability to carry guns at the school. It would be called a "concealed carry" where teachers would go to special training making schools no longer a gun-free environment. This means that some teachers, who are adept to holding a gun, would be holstering one at all times. He backed up his statement by talking about assistant football coach, Aaron Feis, who took his own life to shield three students who were in the line of fire of the gunman. He stated, "If he had a firearm, he wouldn't had to run he would've shot and that would be the end of it." However, President Trump is up for debate and will go into further study with his idea. He wants to see both sides and has asked questions on what other ways we as a country could fix this situation.
Discussion Questions
1. If this proposal is taken in to actual consideration, do you think this will create a safer or more dangerous environment for students? Why or why not?
2. What is another solution that can ensure a safer campus for all schools?
3. After already having over a dozen of school shootings in 2018, do you think this is putting the second amendment at risk and should the US consider getting rid of it?
I think that if the proposal is taken in to actual consideration, this would actually make it more dangerous towards the students. This is because of human emotions. No one really knows what they themselves would do in a fit of anger or annoyance. That small chance of causing a student death by teachers should be enough to invalidate the proposal.
ReplyDeleteThat is a good point. There have been many cases where teachers have gone to jail because of actions they have done in schools. Not all teachers are safe to fit the job as a mature adult and if giving one of those immature adults a gun, it would have a bad outcome. Students can also do a very good job on manipulating and triggering teachers to the point where they lose their temper. If a teacher who does do that and they are carrying a gun could lead to an unsafe and potential dangerous situation. I think the whole idea of having teachers carrying guns is a unsafe idea and should not be approved.
DeleteI think that there are other ways of ensuring the safety of students of all schools instead of having to give the teachers guns. One way of making sure the school is safe is by making sure that there is always an active police on the site of the school to oversee the action of the students. In the event that there should a shooter on campus with students present, then the officer would be able to come in contact with the police station and get reinforcement and while being able to talk to the teachers about what the best thing to do. Or even getting metal detectors. If someone is tempted to bring any material that is of means to anyone around them then the metal detectors will scan it and they will no longer be a threat to the school. Even having body searches is better than giving arms to teachers. Although it can be uncomfortable for the students, it is better than having no students.
ReplyDeleteIf the goal is to make campuses more safe, why would they introduce guns. If the goal is to produce more firearms and increase profits for the NRA then go ahead and require teachers to be carrying. The amount of money needed to equip each teacher with a gun, train them, and maintain them is an excessive amount that is just going to be another thing that the public has to pay for. Instead of solving the symptoms of gun violence, why don't we attack the problem to prevent future tragedies. If it was harder to obtain a gun in the first place then there would be fewer shooting in general. Introducing firearms in a classroom can lead to accidents along with giving individuals access to a weapon that they didn't previously have. There are other measure that can be taken to help ensure campus security. Increasing guards on campus or implementing metal detectors are much safer and probably less expensive ways to keep students safe.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with your idea about not having teachers carry guns on campus. There is also something about the dangerous part of guns that appeal to several students and they would be interested in wanting to get a hold of one of those guns. It would also be a lot easier for student, like Nikolas Cruz, to get a hold of these guns and do the exact same acts when teachers aren't looking. I also agree with possibly increasing security on schools however the part about metal detectors are very hard to work with because so many students have metal in their backpacks whether it is school supplies, or a container for lunch, etc. I don't think the metal detector would work and is a little far fetched but definitely trying to make it harder to obtain firearms would be a good idea but also security in schools is a good way.
DeleteI think this issue is more complicated than to just remove guns. Though I do not support guns in the US, I also acknowledge that there are about the same amount of firearms in the US as there are people, making it nearly impossible to remove them from the populace. The solution to shootings needs to not only discourage the purchase of new guns, but also the use of existing guns. The government could try to remove guns from the hands of the people by offering to buy them or offering tax deductions for individuals who own guns. Simply outlawing them will not fix the millions of guns already among the American people.
ReplyDeleteGun control in the US is a very controversial topic, and both sides of the debate have reasonable arguments and policies. Allowing teachers to carry guns could reduce the severity of these school shootings, but like the others said, there are other solutions as well. One possible solution is to ban assault weapons. Assault weapons have the capacity to kill numerous people in just seconds. Although the second amendment guarantees the right of US citizens to bear arms, there is no reason why people should own assault weapons for the reason that they exist only to kill large numbers of people.
ReplyDeleteI believe the second amendment needs to be heavily restricted or altered. In the time where it was written, the arms protected by it were inaccurate and fired slowly. Nowadays, guns are much more advanced and deadly. The founding fathers could not foresee the power of automatic weapons that exist today. While the second amendment exists to protect citizens from the government, it simply puts many citizens at risk, including students at high schools like Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. In a year that already has had dozens of school shootings, we must look at the root of these events. While guns are not the only issue, countries like Australia increased their gun control after a mass shooting and have not had any such major incidents since. The second amendment is still vital and protects citizen's rights, but the US needs to at least consider limiting it to prevent the absurd number of mass shootings.
ReplyDeleteIf this proposal is taken in to actual consideration, I believe that this will create an even more dangerous environment for students. School is a place where you should not worry about your safety or security, it should a place for you to learn. Providing teachers with guns will not make the students any more safe. If the weapons fall into the wrong hands, it can create a disaster. (For example, if a teacher accidentally leaves a gun cabinet unlocked) A solution to this would be to prevent automatic guns from being sold, only guns that are purely for protection, such as those near wildlife and live in rural areas. I believe that the US should reconsider their second amendment, because people are using it to harm others, abusing their rights as an American citizen.
ReplyDeleteIf this were to be implemented in schools around the US, I am sure that there would be accidents with guns at schools and possibly even teachers harming other students. I think that this will create a dangerous environment within schools because of the possible outcomes that could occur with a teacher carrying a gun. The amount of money that would go into buying these guns and teaching teachers how to use them would be a lot for the school and teachers, which is another complication regarding this plan. I’m sure many students would feel uncomfortable with their teachers holding firearms in classrooms as well. Having to see a teacher with a gun strapped to their waist can be frightening for many people, especially younger children. One solution that could ensure a safer campus for all schools would be to have police officers on campus, patrolling at all times. According to a Business Insider article, Japan rarely has 10 shooting deaths a year, none of which are school shootings. They have a process and laws for obtaining firearms, which seems to be working considering they have no school shootings. I think that the US as a nation needs to create stricter gun laws to prevent tragic events like these from happening. No, I do not believe the second amendment is at risk, however I do believe we will be seeing stricter gun control laws in the near future. It’s premature for discussion about removing the second amendment from the constitution today because the concept of the right to bear arms is too deeply rooted in the US.
ReplyDeleteI think that allowing teachers to carry guns is incredibly risky and it will only destroy the safe space that schools claim to have. Students are at more of a risk sitting in a class with a teacher who has a gun because nobody knows what they are capable of. Students will feel more scared and it won't be a good learning environment. The teachers could also threaten the students using their gun to make the students do what they want them to do. I agree with Rina's and Emi's point on how to ensure a safer campus and to reduce the likelihood of deaths in a mass shooting: they should have police officers who patrol the school. I think that that is a much better solution than giving the teachers access to guns. I think that the US needs to move ahead with stricter gun laws because giving a firearm to the wrong person is the main cause of these shootings. According to a statistics page about mass shootings in the Washingotn Post, 1,077 people were killed due to shottings (https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2018/national/mass-shootings-in-america/?utm_term=.ab67ce8b118a). Giving too much freedom to people regarding dangerous weapons will only put the safety of US residents at risk.
ReplyDeleteI believe allowing teachers to hold guns is very dangerous. First of all, a teacher could possess the firearm in an ill manner by possibly shooting the students. Also a student could perhaps hold the stashed firearm and start the issue. Additionally, many students could be distressed because they are learning in an unsafe environment. Also, in class, we discussed about how much effort and money it would take to give all teachers nationwide a firearm and giving them a license to fire it. The solution should not be to give a teacher a firearm but there should be another solution into preventing school shootings.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Mitchell in that allowing teachers to carry guns on campus is incredibly dangerous. Having anything dangerous around students is inherently a bad idea. Accidents happen all the time. How is a kindergartener to know that a gun is not a toy? How is a child that might have toy guns at home supposed to know that this gun is not safe? Furthermore, what certifies a teacher as competent? The ability to wield a gun is not a reason to give one to someone, for ability in no way indicates mental fortitude to not only use the gun when necessary, but to also be able to control oneself and not use the gun to take even more innocent lives. No screening is perfect, and the solution to guns is not more guns. The only solution to school shootings is to implement gun control. Background checks, wait times, outlawing purchases at gun shows, gun licenses, banning assault weapons and any way of modifying a weapon to become an assault weapon. No one with a prior felony conviction should be allowed to purchase a gun, and you must be at least 21 to purchase even the most basic weapon. None of these policies would majorly affect national gun ownership, yet they could save thousands of lives. There are also ways to ensure that politicians in the pockets of the NRA aren't voted into office, like forcing them to disclose donations or enforcing maximum campain donations from a single source. No student should have to go to school and fear for their life.
ReplyDeleteIf Trump's proposal is actually acted upon, it may lead to a more dangerous school environment, because mainly the teachers possess guns but also due to the fact that the school environment should be one that is safe and as far away from violence as possible. Sure firearms can be used for self defense in the possibility of an armed intruder, but altering the school environment with the thought of a teacher owning a gun can have more dangerous affects. This of course is why the 2nd amendment is being under heavy criticism after this recent attack at Parkland Florida. The perpetrator of the crimes at this location had access to weapons that were meant to multiple people which is the reason for outcry of many citizens across the US. Like what Andrew said, the second amendment was written hundreds of years ago, and applied to an entirely different situation that it does to today. Right now, any citizen that is of age can have access to an firearm that is dangerous enough to cause a tragedy like Parkland Florida. That is why the applications of the second amendment should be altered, because people should not have access to such deadly weapons. The second amendment was written with the assumption that people should have the capability to defend themselves, but is it really necessary to have a gun that has the possibility of shooting 45 rounds per minute to defend oneself? That is why the second amendment needs to be adjusted to address today's gun issues that plague the nation.
ReplyDeleteAlthough a solution to the pressing gun control problems is in high demand, Trump's suggestion may not have been fully thought through. In the same way that two wrongs often don't make a right, people cannot except protection from guns by using more guns. It has been speculated that concealed carry and right to carry laws may actually reduce crime rates because criminals may face armed civilian opposition, however this may not apply in a school setting. Although armed teaching staff may deter some predators to schools, it also increases the chances of student or staff injury. Arming teachers in no way guarantees safety, and had Aaron Feis been carrying a gun, he may still have been shot, and may not have been able to save the lives of students. Finally, if Trump's proposal was taken seriously the incorporation of weapons into schools would be incredibly complicated. Teachers would need to be evaluated extensively to ensure morality and would need to be trained to handle guns. Although this proposal may not be the best solution to gun control problems a better idea may be reducing the sort of guns accessible and stricter methods to obtain weapons. There is a vast difference between an AR-15 and a handgun, and the fact that such damaging weapons are even accessible. Overall, the solution to America's gun problem has yet to become totally clear, but the combined efforts of American citizens will help to achieve a fix to the issue.
ReplyDeleteI think that teachers with guns would create a more dangerous environment. I think that if someone were to shoot people at school, the teachers wouldn't be able to defend themselves even if they had guns. Without having practiced shooting people on a regular basis, the teachers would probably freeze up or panic under pressure. We cannot expect the teachers to shoot people for us. Also, if teachers had guns, children might be more fearful to come to school because they know the teachers have the power to shoot them. Teachers having guns gives the teachers the ability to harm the students, which is a risk many people would not feel comfortable taking by sending children to school. We don't know for sure that all teachers will use their power to shoot in an appropriate way. Many students might also be able to get ahold of the teacher's gun, which could lead to many violent situations. Who knows what an out of control teen would do with a gun? Having guns at school would only create more problems.
ReplyDeleteI think that arming teachers with guns would create a more dangerous environment. It could cause many problems to arise. For example, if a teacher failed to safely store the gun, a student could easily get their hands on it, and hurt themself or other people. Also, it may make many students and teachers feel unsafe or uncomfortable knowing that there are guns on their campus that are ready to be fired. It may even cause students to fear teachers that carry the guns. I don't think that people should not be allowed to carry guns. However, I do think there should be more regulations on gun control. For example, not anyone should just be able to purchase a gun. Also, a gun as powerful as the one used should not be able to be purchased.
ReplyDeleteI think arming teachers is a really inconsiderate idea especially towards the students. Many people are not diagnosed with mental illnesses and they have anger issues. Having guns on campuses simply stimulates the idea of violence and that it is okay to have weapons. Parents especially will disagree with this because they want their students to be safe, and unpredictable incidents happen but not having firearms on campus will reassure them that their child is safe. Trump states that he would have exhibited bravery but in the intensity of that moment you are really not sure of what is happening. It is a really difficult time and just having the fear of being shot anytime on campus will haunt students in the halls if teachers are carrying visible firearms.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/26/us/politics/trump-school-shooter-florida.html
A dozen shootings in 2018 is far too many. In two months, 12 schools, full of - now and forever affected an traumatized- students, have experienced a school shooting. There is a way for things to get better, but I know for a fact that is NOT arming teachers with guns. Arming teachers with guns is like fighting fire with fire, and to be honest, as a student, if I knew that some of my teachers were armed with a weapon I would feel more unsafe, not more safe. It is time for the regulations around guns to be revised. It is time for laws to be revised. It is time for change because to me, NOTHING justifies why people should have such easy access to guns when there has already been over 12 school shootings in the short two months of this year; nothing.
ReplyDeleteBecause this debate is so one sided, I am going to start this conversation by playing the devils advocate. So a Republican (Just kidding I know there are smart Republicans). Arming teachers would be incredibly beneficial for many reasons. First of all, schools are incredibly "soft targets" for people to go to and commit a mass shooting. If we arm teachers with weapons, potential shooters would be much more wary of attacking the school if it is full of guns. Some "liberal snowflakes" say that having cops on campus is a much better solution, as they are "trained" and know how to react to the situation. But, as shown in the parkland shooting, the teachers love the students, not the cops, and are the only ones who will put themselves on the line. As you can see the only way to protect our kids is to arm teachers. . .
ReplyDeleteNow in all seriousness, I'm going to argue against these strangely common claims. For the first situation, there is no guarantee that a teacher will have experience with a gun, and even if they do its a panicked school. Unless you are a trained cop or a military veteran, you cannot accurately respond to the situation and there is a high chance that you could injure a student and end of helping the shooter. For the second claim, there is a whole range of people. Not every teacher will throw themselves in front of students to save them, like Aaron Feis did at the Parkland shooting. (https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/parkland-school-shooting-hero-football-coach-aaron-feis-died-shielding-n848311) And not every on-campus officer doesn't interact with the rest of the school to grow close to them so they care for the students lives. People are people, so there is know way to predict what one person would do over another. In conclusion, arming teachers isn't the right path and there are plenty of other, smarter solutions to the problem
There are definitely other ways of ensuring the safety of students at school other than providing the teachers with guns on school campus since a school environment should be one that is safe and far from any violence. Even though firearms can be used for self-defense, teachers would need to go through a lot of training on guns and they would need to get evaluated to ensure morality. By doing so, a lot of effort and money is used to give all the teachers nationwide a firearm, as well as a license to fire it. But even if there are violent weapons on campus that students were aware of, this may cause them to feel unsafe, which is the exact opposite a school zone should feel like since many hours are spent there. One possible way of establishing a school is safe is by making sure that there are always police on the campus that are able to oversee any actions. Thus, it is evident that Trump's solution, giving teachers firearms, is not the brightest solution.
ReplyDeleteI think that this would create a more dangerous environment for students. Like Madison said, I agree that there are many other ways to ensure safety on school campuses and that training for teachers would take lots of work, and would take away from educating students. Although it is possible that teachers would be more responsible with a gun than a student, a person cannot assume that anyone has, or does not have good intentions when possessing a firearm. In addition to this, I feel that the presence of firearms would make students feel uneasy. If teachers have concealed weapons, how do students know whether they are safe in their classrooms? Finally, the role of policemen is to protect communities, and if they are not doing their jobs, the responsibility should not fall into the hands of educators.
ReplyDeleteI completely disagree with the idea that teachers should have guns in the classroom. I have abad history with guns so I definitely don't feel safe in a classroom where my teacher could potentially harm my classmates and me. Another solution would be to give schools a few police officers, TRAINED people to handle guns. Unfortunately, we can't really rely on policemen. In the recent school shooting in Florida, apparently a voice officer wasn't ready to handle a situation like that. We simply have to make it harder for people to obtain guns.
ReplyDeleteI believe that this would create a more dangerous environment if teachers carried around guns. I think the students would be unsafe if their teachers carried around a gun. There are many other ways to ensure safety at school. We can not assume that teachers would use guns for good things. Another solution to ensure better safety is to improve the security such as all teachers should lock their doors while in class teaching. Therefore, giving guns to teachers is not the best solution because we do not know if the teachers will make bad choices.
ReplyDeleteAllowing teachers to carry their own guns seems like a bad idea. Gun violence is partially caused by the fact that it is so easy to go out and buy a gun, and many people who buy those guns are not qualified to own one. Giving teachers guns
ReplyDeletecreates a dangerous environment for both students and staff. This may make more people in a school environment feel unsafe. In many instances of gun violence, a shooter is a trusted acquaintance or coworker. Even if teachers are put through training, there is always a possibility that that teacher or staff member is dangerous. Giving all teachers guns will likely result in more violence. An alternative solution to this may be doing more drills to ensure that students and staff are absolutely certain about what to do in the case of a shooting. Allowing teachers to bring guns to school seems extreme. It is possible that, if a teacher leaves their gun unattended, it will fall into the hands of a student, who is not trained or authorized to have a gun. If we are willing to take extreme precautions to protect students, then it would be much safer to make every student wear a bullet-proof vest to school. I think the Second Amendment is important to the safety of the country, and should remain in place, but I think we need stricter background checks to make sure that only those who are qualified to use guns can use them.