Further, the gun lobby’s claim that “gun-free zones” invite mass shootings has been thoroughly debunked by research showing that the overwhelming majority-nearly 90%-of all high-fatality gun massacres since 1966 have occurred wholly or partly in locations where civilian guns were allowed or there was armed security or law enforcement present. Teachers are not trained law enforcement officers-their purpose is to be educators and role models. 10 There is no reason to believe such proposals will help curb those rare instances of gun violence at school.
Proposals offered by the gun lobby to arm teachers and repeal gun-free school zones laws are dangerous and counter-productive. School-associated student homicide rates decreased after the federal laws restricting guns within 1,000 feet of schools were adopted in the early 1990s, 8 and fewer students are carrying guns. 7įederal and state laws ensuring that schools are gun-free zones have helped make K–12 schools even safer, significantly reducing gun violence in these places. 6 During the 2010-11 school year, there was about one homicide or suicide of a school-age youth at school per 3.5 million enrolled students. 5 In addition, at least 140 times as many youth suicides occurred off school property than at school. A report issued by the US Departments of Education and Justice found that between 19, at least 50 times as many murders of young people ages 5–18 occurred away from school than at school. Shootings at K–12 schools shock us because schools are generally safe havens from the gun violence that is so prevalent elsewhere. Allowing guns on campus poses a grave threat to people employed by schools as well, making the workplace more dangerous for university staff and faculty. The presence of guns in higher education classrooms also burdens the First Amendment right to academic freedom of speech-guns can impede the candid discourse that is critical to the collegiate experience. By contrast, laws that prohibit guns in schools and impose harsh penalties for gun possession help keep students and educators safe. Calls to arm teachers or to allow college students to carry guns will only lead to more gun deaths and injuries, not fewer. The tragedies that took place at Sandy Hook, 1 Columbine, 2 Virginia Tech, 3 and other schools across the US 4 demonstrate the devastating effect guns have on our school communities. Guns have no place in our nation’s schools.
Meanwhile, the gun lobby’s efforts to force colleges and universities to allow guns on campuses poses a threat to the safety of post-secondary students and educators. Dangerous gaps in gun-free schools laws, like concealed carry exceptions, threaten the safety of children and increase the likelihood of tragic school shootings. Schools should be a safe haven from the violence that touches so many Americans, yet many states lack proper legal protection against the presence of firearms in schools. Guns in schools are an unnecessary and significant threat to the safety of children and college students.
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