Opinion: Giving teachers guns is absurd

Over a month ago, hundreds of teenagers ran for their lives from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, where 17 students and staff members suffered severe injuries because of a school shooting. This event spurred the topic of guns and, of course, gun control. With the number of school shootings already in the double digits in 2018, people have a reason to be concerned.

According to CNN, this has averaged to 1.5 school shootings every single week. Students, parents, and faculty are all worried. As a result of these occurrences, people from both sides of the debate on gun control have responded. Many believe that an effective way to combat gun violence would be to arm teachers. That is absurd for many reasons.

Obviously, the proposal assumes that the teacher may take action to stop a school shooter. This proposition may seem like an idea that is not too “absurd”. A good guy with a gun can stop a bad guy with a gun. The problem here is all the mishaps and misfires that may occur. A teacher has a bad day, week, month, year and is pushed to the edge. Not all teachers are comfortable with this proposal. A “bonus” is not enough for one to go against their morals, in the case one is anti-gun. In an actual school shooting, it is impossible to determine the effectiveness of a handgun against an assault weapon. Asking our teachers whether they are willing to pull the trigger on a human being is a question that should not be asked. When four officials whose job it is to protect the campus flail around waiting for even more back up, what do we expect our teachers to do? On the chance that a teacher has no issue with firing a gun to save lives, can they live with the potential mistake of shooting a student?

There is also the issue that may arise from a teacher in such a situation. Energy is high and tense. When the official police come to deal with the situation, they are looking for an individual with a gun. What exactly prevents them from shooting a teacher trying to help the situation? Also, making guns more available is horrendous. Giving students access to guns in the classroom would probably add to the problem at hand. Yes, teachers would not have their gun accessible, as we would like to believe, but accidents do happen.

This issue at its core is far past a gun control issue. It is a mental issue. There is the whole argument that “guns don’t kill people, people kill people”. It is true, no matter what people say. Yes, a killer with a knife cannot harm nearly as many people as with a gun, but the issue is quite the same. It is not an issue of being a hindrance to the “bad guys” but an issue of stopping there existing “bad guys” in the US and the world. If we could put as much attention and care in focusing on our people and their mental stability as much as we do in debating the issue of gun control, maybe we can find the cure for this disease.