As of the 15th February 2018 there have been an estimated 239 school shootings since Sandy Hook Elementary in December 2012.
The last school shooting that occurred in Scotland was in March 1996 at Dunblane primary school near Stirling. After this shooting, gun laws were passed to ban almost all handguns. Since this law was passed there have been no other school shootings in Scotland to date.
The second amendment says “…the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.” It has been in place since 1971 but is it right? President Trump wants to arm teachers in schools but could this cause an increase in school shootings?
By arming teachers in schools the risk of a school shooting occurring is increased. Young children can easily get a hold of guns if they are not locked away securely. Any shooter that enters a building will then have more than one weapon at his disposal due to the teachers having guns. If a teacher shoots back at the attacker any student could accidently get shot in the cross fire. That teacher can then be accused of murder because of an accident during the attack.
Teachers across the nation are against bringing weapons of war into a school environment where innocent children could potentially be harmed. President Trump seems to think that arming teachers would be more useful than waiting for the first responders and has even said that any teacher willing to be armed will get “a bit of a bonus”. The first responders arrive at the scene 5-8 minutes after the shooting has been reported. At the school shooting in Florida bullets were fired for 4 minutes. Word has Every school shooting in the USA since 2013 The most recent school shooting happened at Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school in Parkland, Florida. 14 students and 3 members of staff were shot and died during the attack on the school. Shooting suspect Nikolas Cruz, aged 19, has been jailed on 17 accounts of murder and has admitted to the attack. Friends and family of the victims met with President Trump at the white house to express their feelings of fear and sorrow over the attack. President Trump met with grief stricken students and family members in search of a solution. Samuel Zeif, 18, told of texting his parents and brothers from the second floor of Stoneman Douglas, believing that he would be killed, and he dissolved into tears as he begged the president, “Let’s never let this happen again — please, please.” These students have to live with the memories of their friends and teachers being shot and not being able to do anything about it. Going back to the high school to continue their educations they have to live with the memories of fear and panic haunting them as they walk through the halls. They will never forget that they are no longer innocent; they have seen things that most people could never begin to imagine.
It has been spread across the nation and to other parts of the world that an armed officer in the Florida school did nothing to stop the shooter. The officer, Scot Peterson, was suspended without pay and placed under investigation, then chose to resign. The Dunblane school massacre took place at Dunblane primary school near Stirling, Scotland. The massacre happened on the 13th of March 1996 when Thomas Hamilton broke into the gymnasium and began shooting at a class of 5 and 6 year olds. Tennis star Andy Murray, who was aged 8 at the time, and his brother Jamie, who was 2 years older, were at school during the shooting. “Andy’s class had been on their way to the gym,” Judy Murray told the Radio Times. “That’s how close he was to what happened. They heard the noise and someone went ahead to investigate. They came back and told all the kids to go to the headmaster’s study and the deputy head’s study.” The Sandy Hook shooting took place at Sandy Hook Elementary, Newtown Connecticut. The shooting took place on the 14th of December, 2012. Adam Lanza, aged 20, shot 20 children between the ages of 6 and 7 and 6 adult members of staff. Lanza also shot himself after the attack and his mother before the attack. The children and adult victims of the Sandy Hook shooting died less than 2 weeks before Christmas leaving families and friends devastated. In the years following the Sandy Hook shooting, parents have tried to move forwards with their lives while honoring their children’s memories. In anticipation of the 5 year anniversary of the massacre, parents spoke a child that they each lost that day.
Scarlett Lewis, mother of Jesse Lewis, said “Jesse was larger than life from the beginning, very loud, very energetic, responsible and mature and strong and courageous.” She said that she wasn’t surprised to hear that her son had reportedly helped save the lives of some his classmates during his last moments. During a pause in the shooting he shouted at them run, several students did what he said and were able to escape. After hearing of this action his mother said, “You can’t always choose what happens to you, but you can always choose how to respond. You can always respond with love.
Children and adults across the nation are living in fear of going to school or sending their children to school. They don’t know if their children will come home after school or if they will be a victim of another tragic school shooting. Students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school were aided in their return school by therapy dogs which were there to make the transition back to school after the tragedy slightly more bearable. Federal law prohibits handgun ownership by any person under the age of 18, with a handful of exceptions. However there is no minimum age for owning a long gun (rifle and shotgun). Twenty states and the District of Columbia have set their own minimum age laws ranging from 14 in Montana to 21 in Illinois, but in the remaining 30 states it’s technically legal for a child to possess a long gun. That doesn’t mean that a child can walk into a gun show and purchase a gun. If a boy’s father wants to buy him a gun for his thirteenth or fourteenth birthday then it is within his rights to do so. The boy is then legally able to shot that gun at any shooting ranges across the country. Gun ownership in America would be better off restricted because it gives people who think about shooting anyone, anywhere less of an opportunity to do so. By restricting guns in America citizens will be safer due to the decreased amount of guns across the nation. Guns should be removed from the hands of those unable to use them responsibly either at a shooting range or in self-defence. There are pros and cons to having gun control in the USA but I feel that they should be controlled. There are many pros and cons that can be debated however one pro that stand out from the rest is that there will be less shootings if guns are controlled. Fewer lives will be taken or affected by the aftermath of another shooting. People across that nation would agree that another shooting is not what anybody needs. School shooting or otherwise controlling gun laws will save lives.
