While the nation is still reeling from the tragic events of last Friday in Newtown, CT, many questions have been raised about how such a tragedy could have been prevented. Would stricter gun laws have been effective? Would an improved mental health treatment system have helped the gunman with his illness and prevented the events at Sandy Hook? Was there anything that could have been done? While I believe that no single answer could give us a full understanding of the events, why they took place or how to prevent similar disasters from happening again, I am convinced that one solution being considered is not only dangerous, but impractical as well.
Earlier this week, Congressman Louie Gohmert stated on Fox News Sunday that he “wishes to God [Sandy Hook Principal Dawn Hochsprung] had had an M-4 in her office, locked up so when she heard gunfire, she pulls it out and takes him out and takes his head off before he can kill those precious kids.”
Since Congressman Gohmert made his statements, several other Conservative leaders have expressed similar beliefs, including 2012 Republican Presidential Candidate Gov. Rick Perry.
As a teacher for more than two decades, I’m appalled at the idea of arming teachers and school administrators. Our schools should be sanctuaries for our children, and having guns under teachers’ desks or in closets not only sends the wrong message to our children, but also puts their lives in danger. The minute they enter school grounds, every child would be become a potential victim of a gun accident.
But in addition to the danger such a policy would put our children in, the idea is grossly impractical. In most large California High Schools, School Resource Officers (SRO’s) — who are armed, sworn officers provided by local police agencies — are common, but limited funding for state and local agencies prevents SRO’s from being placed in elementary schools.
If advocates are suggesting that the answer to the lack of SRO funding is to allow teachers and school administrators to carry weapons on campus, they are ignoring an important issue. Placing armed, sworn officers on schools campuses is accompanied by a high liability insurance cost.
What would those liability costs look like if teachers or school administrators, who have no professional experience in using such force, were allowed to carry and potentially use firearms on campus? Those costs, I suspect, would be astronomical.
Who does Congressman Gohmert and Governor Perry propose bear these costs? School districts? City governments? Police Departments? These departments have been devastated by budget cuts year after year, since the recession began nearly 5 years ago.
Our children should be safe in their schools and there are sensible, practical steps that could be taken to prepare teachers and school administrators for such an event. In the months ahead, our society will need to think critically about gun violence in our country and make difficult decisions to address the issue, but the knee-jerk reaction of allowing teachers to carry firearms in schools is not a safe, reasonable solution.