Guarding Against Guns
by Christopher Pak
In the past few months, school shootings have been major areas of concern for thousands of people across the United States. The most recent and devastating shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School has made that fact even more eminent. These incidents have caused many educational administrators to reconsider their policy on whether schools should implement school guards with concealed firearms to counter any possible future shootings.
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, approximately 68% of all public high schools in the U.S. have armed security staff on campus. This percentage is currently growing in light of recent events.
Due to recent events, many are under the notion that gun policies can have strict boundaries overnight. Despite the voices of many who are against the utilization of guns, such as the Coalition for Gun Control, there are also those who immensely support the freedom to bear arms, such as the National Rifle Association. As a result of the clash of distinct viewpoints and perspectives, many Americans agree they, as a nation, have yet to actually come to an effective solution.
One side of the gun issue consists of activists who support the implementation of school guards with concealed firearms. “I understand why some people would support school guards having firearms. These people want to make schools a safe place for us students,” said Nithin Sunilkumar.
On the contrary, there are those other activists who are against the idea of having school guards carry concealed firearms. Many people with this perspective believe that there is not really a need for a school to have firearm protection. “Why would we even need guns in the first place? In our neighborhood, there has never been anything that is even close to a shooting,” said junior Anson Varughese.
However, the number of people who support arms in school outweighs the number of people who are against the idea. Thus, Americans’ rising desire for defensive arms in schools places a further burden on security guards, many of whom are not trained in the use of firearms. “If we suddenly have guards with guns in the building, what would most likely happen is confusion and anxiety which is not needed. This may inhibit the productivity of the school environment instead of improving it,” said junior Dhaval Shah.
Furthermore, the costs of firearms is unrealistic with our constant budget cuts. “Our budgets are already being slashed. Honestly, we do not even have the proper funding for some of our clubs, and at this time, it seems highly unlikely that there would be enough financial support for this kind of policy.” said senior Diane Choi.
Statistics also show that educational facilities that had armed guards still had shootings. “Let’s look at the two major shootings in the past, Virginia Tech and Columbine High School. Both schools had armed security guards who were unable to protect the school, which showed that armed guards aren’t always a guarantee of safety,” said senior Josh Johnikutty.
Because there are no standards for a perfect solution to this gun conflict, many people say that this issue will always remain volatile. They also argue that the United States should quickly reach an agreement to reconcile the disparity of two opposing arguments, and increase the protection of our school to some extent. “If we had actually more minor weapons such as tasers, then I would feel much more comfortable than if there were people with guns in the building,” said Math teacher Ms. Kurian.
Others believe that arming security guards is an unneeded and unnecessary safety risk. “Many security guards don’t even have training in firearms. Arming them places the responsibility of school safety entirely on their backs, which is a dangerous situation to be in. And as Columbine and Virginia Tech have shown us, it is not always an effective solution to arm guards,” said senior Aakash Japi.
In the past few months, school shootings have been major areas of concern for thousands of people across the United States. The most recent and devastating shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School has made that fact even more eminent. These incidents have caused many educational administrators to reconsider their policy on whether schools should implement school guards with concealed firearms to counter any possible future shootings.
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, approximately 68% of all public high schools in the U.S. have armed security staff on campus. This percentage is currently growing in light of recent events.
Due to recent events, many are under the notion that gun policies can have strict boundaries overnight. Despite the voices of many who are against the utilization of guns, such as the Coalition for Gun Control, there are also those who immensely support the freedom to bear arms, such as the National Rifle Association. As a result of the clash of distinct viewpoints and perspectives, many Americans agree they, as a nation, have yet to actually come to an effective solution.
One side of the gun issue consists of activists who support the implementation of school guards with concealed firearms. “I understand why some people would support school guards having firearms. These people want to make schools a safe place for us students,” said Nithin Sunilkumar.
On the contrary, there are those other activists who are against the idea of having school guards carry concealed firearms. Many people with this perspective believe that there is not really a need for a school to have firearm protection. “Why would we even need guns in the first place? In our neighborhood, there has never been anything that is even close to a shooting,” said junior Anson Varughese.
However, the number of people who support arms in school outweighs the number of people who are against the idea. Thus, Americans’ rising desire for defensive arms in schools places a further burden on security guards, many of whom are not trained in the use of firearms. “If we suddenly have guards with guns in the building, what would most likely happen is confusion and anxiety which is not needed. This may inhibit the productivity of the school environment instead of improving it,” said junior Dhaval Shah.
Furthermore, the costs of firearms is unrealistic with our constant budget cuts. “Our budgets are already being slashed. Honestly, we do not even have the proper funding for some of our clubs, and at this time, it seems highly unlikely that there would be enough financial support for this kind of policy.” said senior Diane Choi.
Statistics also show that educational facilities that had armed guards still had shootings. “Let’s look at the two major shootings in the past, Virginia Tech and Columbine High School. Both schools had armed security guards who were unable to protect the school, which showed that armed guards aren’t always a guarantee of safety,” said senior Josh Johnikutty.
Because there are no standards for a perfect solution to this gun conflict, many people say that this issue will always remain volatile. They also argue that the United States should quickly reach an agreement to reconcile the disparity of two opposing arguments, and increase the protection of our school to some extent. “If we had actually more minor weapons such as tasers, then I would feel much more comfortable than if there were people with guns in the building,” said Math teacher Ms. Kurian.
Others believe that arming security guards is an unneeded and unnecessary safety risk. “Many security guards don’t even have training in firearms. Arming them places the responsibility of school safety entirely on their backs, which is a dangerous situation to be in. And as Columbine and Virginia Tech have shown us, it is not always an effective solution to arm guards,” said senior Aakash Japi.