It’s only been three weeks since the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. That means it’s only been three weeks since we saw the videos of children hiding, some trying to save their peers’ lives and teachers sacrificing themselves for their students. Just three weeks since we saw the names and faces of 17 victims appear in front of us.
When are we, as a country, going to stop needing to have the post-incident conversation about mass shootings, and especially school shootings? Are we not tired of this yet?
As a student-run organization, we at The Bulletin most certainly are.
In California alone, several junior high and high schools have had attempted school shootings, some resulting in fatalities. At colleges in Los Angeles, we have seen five people killed at Santa Monica College in 2013 and one person killed on campus at the University of California, Los Angeles in 2016.
The number of mass shootings in America is on the rise. Not just every year, but every month. According to The Washington Post, since the mass shooting on Aug. 1, 1966 at the University of Texas there have been 150 shootings with four or more people killed.
“Since then, the number has risen dramatically, and many of the deadliest shooting have occurred within the past few years.”
We could get into all the reasons why this is happening, but that would lead us to nowhere and we’re not here to argue. None of that solves the problem.
The problem is simple: No person should ever go to school, or anywhere for that matter, and worry about being shot. As a possible, but a bad, solution, some right-leaning politicians have offered the idea of arming teachers.
How would arming teachers solve anything? Across the country, we have teachers that are underpaid and struggling to teach. Giving them guns would speak volumes about our thoughts on teachers.
Instead of giving teachers the salaries they deserve, we’re going to give them guns and expect them to worry about it every day?
People are joking about it on social media, but this is serious. Not all teachers are to be trusted with a firearm in a classroom. Many don’t even want the responsibility of having any type of weapon in their possession and definitely not on school grounds.
“They’re being hired to teach, not to handle a weapon,” said S.G., a CSUDH faculty member who did not want their full name used. “Are they going to keep it in the classroom? Are students going to know about it? This is a safety hazard. What if a student knows where the weapon is and they get upset? Having a gun in the classroom may hurt the situation more than it would help it.”
Instead of trying to put this type of responsibility on teachers, why not try to solve the problem with some type of legislation such as extensive background checks and, more than anything, the banning of all semi-automatic assault rifles. Isn’t this what we’re all paying taxes for anyway? For politicians, faculty and whoever else to make sure everyone they represent is safe?
Finding a solution to this problem feels out of our hands, so, until something is done on Capitol Hill or in state legislatures, we are all going to have to rely on our fight-or-flight instincts to save us.
