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YO!
YO! is a collection of short pieces by the writers at Youth Outlook!
Following tragedies like Columbine, and Virginia Tech, it is no surprise that teachers and school officials want to carry firearms not only for their safety but the safety of the school campus – which could prevent similar horrific events. One Oregon teacher wants to be allowed to take her concealed weapon with her to work because of threats made against her by her ex-husband. The teacher believes that having “responsible armed adults on campus” may be key in preventing other school tragedies. I have never felt comfortable around guns. Even guns that are on safety or empty make me uncomfortable. I guess the idea that a piece of crafted metal that can end my life in an instant is a legit sort of fear. I don’t know how comfortable I would be in knowing my teachers were carrying around firearms. Sure, it would potentially defuse a really bad situation if someone came to school with a gun and opened fire. However, there are a few ‘what ifs’ that come to mind. If teachers and the potential shooter started exchanging bullets from one side of the room to the other who is to say students wouldn’t be caught in the middle, adding up to an even deadlier outcome. Given the rise in school violence it is obvious some action needs to taken in school security. However, having teachers walk around with firearms seems like something you do as a last resort. In a typical A to B then C setup, instead going through the traditional steps, it seems like people seem more interested in realizing the problem (A) skipping over (B) and jumping over to C. Schools need to be better equipped in dealing with school violence. Instead of turning school faculty into gun slingers there needs to be a way of tackling the issue of school violence without applying factors that may end up instigating it. UPDATE: It is a matter of safety. Guns should not be a school campus. Period. Even if it is under a registered permit. As I stated before, there should be other ways of dealing with the threat of school violence. Something that doesn’t require getting all trigger happy. comments |
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You can ponder “what if” scenarios from here to eternity, but historical facts clearly show us that when law-abiding people are disarmed by policy, they are more easily victimized by predators who do not respect the law. Being caught in the middle of a gun fight is never a good thing, but being a helpless victim waiting to be slaughtered is much, much worse. The “what if” scenarios, used by gun prohibitionists as justification for preserving failed gun policies, are simply not realistic.
Approximately one third of our nation’s adults are lawful gun owners. There is a gun in 1 out of 4 households in America, for an estimated total of 250 million guns in circulation amongst our civilian population, including 175,000 legal, transferable machine guns. American civilians own nearly 60% of all privately-owned firearms on Earth. That’s alot of guns.
You might conclude from those figures that America is a place where everybody carries a gun, and lots of people get shot, but you would be wrong. There are less firearms-related homicides in America every year than auto-accident deaths, with the majority of victims being adult criminals killed by other criminals while engaging in their trade.
Pistol permit holders make up about 1% of the total population. You are very unlikely to emcounter a permit holder on an average day, especially when you consider that some of them don’t carry regularly due to the inconvenience posed by legal restrictions and wardrobe issues. To feel threatened by the idea that less than 1 in 100 people is carrying a lawful, concealed firearm with a permit, and one “may go crazy or get mad and shoot somebody” is idiotic, if not paranoid delusional.
Most guns stay at home, and the few that do get carried in society are rarely ever used to commit a crime. Do yourself a huge favor and research the topic. You can find reams of data on the FBI, DOJ, DOJ/BJS, and CDC websites. Census data is also quite useful too. The information is available in both PDF and Excel spreadsheet formats.
Everyone is entitled to an opinion, but please have the courtesy to make yours an informed one.
By David Robertson · Posted on Sep 19, 04:56 PM”...there needs to be a way of tackling the issue of school violence…”
”...there should be other ways of dealing with the threat of school violence.”
OK…why don’t you suggest some ways of dealing with school violence?
By John · Posted on Sep 19, 09:54 PMI am going on 12 years of having a concealed weapon permit…and i have personally broken up a domestic violene situation…where i stopped a man from beating his wife…and
By charles william heartsill · Posted on Sep 20, 06:49 PMonce i was being followed by a man who
was too interested in my
christmas purchases…all i did was stop in the parking lot…opened up my jacket and he could see my pistol…he muttered an expletive and moved on…which is precisely what i wanted him to do….i am not going to allow myself to become a helpless victim….