Guns In School Research Paper

Arming Teachers Puts Students at Risk “I want less guns in schools, not more” (April Griffin, School Board Chairman of Hillsborough Schools, found in the article “EDUCATORS: WE DON’T WANT TO BE ARMED; Administrators and teachers strongly oppose the idea that they need guns in class” in the Tampa Bay Times written by Times staff writer Ben Montgomery). Because of the dramatic increase in school shootings since the Columbine High School attacks, America is faced with the dilemma of whether or not to arm teachers during school hours. School staff should not be armed because having guns in school is not an effective way to prevent an attack at the school and it can lead to more violence within the school. Firstly, arming school staff is not …show more content…
In the article “Armed Pakistani teacher hailed as a hero” found in the Washington Post, author Tim Craig reports, “In June, concerns about Pakistan’s rush to arm teachers were magnified when a teacher in the country’s western Swat Valley accidentally shot and killed a fifth-grader.” If a teacher were to be put into a foreign situation in which they had to use their gun, chaos can cause a teacher to fire the gun at a student or staff member. The ability to make logical and quick decisions is clouded, making friendly fire a deadly concern. This can result in death and long-term mental health issues for students and teachers. To further support that arming teachers can lead to more violence, students would be within close range of the gun, making it easier for students to access weapons. “Arming teachers is not like arming pilots. Pilots’ firearms are stored in a secured cockpit where access is very tightly controlled. Teachers would be forced to carry weapons into classrooms filled with children and teens, thus opening many more opportunities for the guns to fall into the wrong hands” (Rostron and Siebel). In many cases of school shootings, a student is a perpetrator and if these students are around weapons on a daily basis, they are more likely to access the weaponry needed to commit these crimes. The probability of the wrong person gaining access to a teacher’s gun is greater than the chance of that gun being used to save student lives. Lastly, allowing guns to be carried during school hours will put a target on the backs of the armed staff. According to James L. Grayson, author of the article “More Guns on Campus Won’t Make Schools More Secure” found in Campus Safety, “A South Carolina study determined that employees, allowed to carry guns in the workplace, increased their risk of injury five times.” Using this logic, the