Last week I finished a book on tape on the Columbine shooting. This week I read a news article about a school shooting in my school district. My initial feelings were shock, concern and heartbreak. I was in the same school district my entire education, 4k-12th grade... this school was a part of me. It wasn't my elementary school, but it was still a part of me. It's a part of my community and a part of my family. All I could think was, "where do we go from here."
The shooting took place on a playground and was perpetrated by a 14-year-old. A teacher and two students were shot, all are currently expected to be okay. This wasn't like Columbine or Virginia Tech or Sandy Hook, but it happened, and the fact that it happened is important. A small South Carolina town had a school shooting. Whenever I hear school shooting, from this day forward, I will think of my school district and know that it can happen anywhere. Whenever I hear about a school shooting, I will feel that fear for my friends, my community and my family.
There has been a lot of talk on my Facebook page following this shooting on gun control. Perhaps that has a place. It's something we can certainly talk about. From the other side are calls for teachers to open carry in the school. That's also something we can talk about, but something I'd advise strongly against. Beyond being a liberal democrat, I'm also a Criminal Justice student. When you add more guns to a civilian situation, it makes it hard for police and other authorities to determine who the shooter is and who the conceal carry individuals are. It creates confusion, and often hinders cops and other first responders from doing their job and neutralizing the threat. If you don't believe me, look at the case of Charles Whitman in 1966. A call went out over the radio that there was a shooter on the clocktower at the University of Texas. Men with guns showed up to try to assist police. They were so busy shooting the clocktower, they didn't realize that the cops were on the clocktower trying to neutralize the shooter. They endangered the lives of the cops, failed to take down the shooter, and greatly added to the confusion and mayhem of the day. Texas has now legalized concealed carry on their campuses and in their student dormitories. I feel that this is a mistake. A school shooting is not the time to demonstrate the goodness of guns aside from their use by a trained professional. Our cops were on the scene in the small town of Townville seven minutes after the incident, a volunteer firefighter had already taken down the shooter by that time with non-lethal force.
We need to think about what is best for everyone in these situations. They can happen anywhere, at any time. They are terrifying, but adding more guns isn't the solution. Say what you will about gun control overall, but don't attack "safe zones" or school policies preventing guns from being carried on school grounds. These laws and regulations are founded to try to protect our children and our college students and keep them safe. Understand that while teachers having guns might make you feel safer, it can actually be more dangerous to you or your children. Understand that there are other things that need to be addressed before more guns are added as a supposed solution. We need to treat mental illness. We need to enforce the gun control we have, and consider whether it is enough or not. We need to reach these students and stop 14 year olds from carrying out senseless acts of violence. Most of all, as hard as it is, in times like these we must remain calm and rational whenever possible. We need to make evidence-based decision making, and we need to take the steps to promote healing in our communities.
