Your President suggests arming teachers

Due to the frightening and escalating amount of gun violence in schools, President Trump proposed a solution to increase school safety. Trump stated, “If you had a teacher who was adept with the firearm, they could end the attack very quickly.” In addition, he championed that at least twenty percent of teachers in each school should be armed. Armed teachers would then be able to prevent “maniacs” from attempting to cause harm during school hours.

As a student at James A. Garfield High School, I find such a proposition very one-sided and ignorant. Not only would this action increase and welcome danger in campuses, it would also invite a sense of distrust inside the classroom. How can we possibly trust our own teachers with a firearm? Isn’t it worrisome for students to hear such solutions of uncertainty and chaos coming from the most important man in the country? When hearing Trump’s ludicrous solution for the first time, many past and unfortunate scenarios rushed through my mind.

#1) A north Georgia high school teacher barricaded himself in a classroom and fired a shot from his handgun out of a window. Police stated that there was no evidence that the 53-year old teacher had intentions of causing harm to students. Yet, it caused so much fear that the school went on lockdown. As shown in this occurrence,  having a gun on campus is seen as a threat regardless of the intentions of the gun owner. Why risk our trust when it could easily be taken away in a second of misconduct.

#2) In the year 2014, a teacher’s aide had a nervous breakdown while entering the school causing terrified young children to evacuate Van Nuys Elementary School. The upset woman reportedly jumped out of her car, ran into the building and started banging on classroom doors, throwing papers everywhere, yelling at walls, tossing chairs, and climbing onto tables. Imagine if she was armed while having this breakdown. Many kids’ lives would’ve been taken away within seconds.

#3) With these aforementioned scenarios, I would not feel safe sending my own kid to a school with armed teachers. Parents should not have to fear sending their son/daughter to school every morning due to the presence of guns on campus. Parents should not fear that dropping their children off that day may be the last time they do so. Why add more fuel to the fire of gun violence on campus? I would not mind having more random searches, more school security, more metal detectors, and more suspicion because this could save many lives of potential leaders in the future.