Need for personal protection puts schools in danger during times of crisis
How could the introduction of more bullets into classrooms improve the situation?
Campus concealment bills have met opposition from school administrators and police — the two groups that, more than anyone else, would have to face the gun issue from the wrong end of the barrel. Supporters of the bill use the requirements needed to earn a concealed weapon permit as the proof that only the most responsible and well-trained citizens would have a concealed gun. The U.S. Army's friendly-fire casualty numbers show that even the best training on a firing range can't demonstrate a person's ability to act calmly in the middle of a firefight.
Let's say that, based on what has occurred more and more frequently in the past few years, a shooter starts a rampage on a public university campus. The shooter, aiming to cause maximum carnage, chooses the school's student union during lunch as the target of his rampage. Several die before the shots and screams draw the attention of two armed students on opposite sides of the building, one on the floor above and one below. One of them reaches the second floor first and begins searching for the gunman, who by this time has moved on. The second responder arrives, panics when he sees a man with a gun, and fires. He misses, hitting a fleeing student behind his target. The first responder returns fire, killing the would-be hero. Police respond to the scene and assume the gunman is dead.
The worst-case scenario is the one that must always be assumed when imagining the impact of a law. This sort of vigilante crime-fighting is the nightmare scenario police are terrified of.
Here's an alternative: During their freshman year, all students in both high school and college should have to take an emergency preparedness course. They would learn to be aware of the warning signs of a potential attack; they can learn whom to report to about suspicious behavior and the fastest way to report it. They can learn the basics of self-defense, which would help battle crimes like rape and robbery. Drills can be run to simulate what to do in the event of a school shooting. That's how we can fight back, by educating our students; instead of a small minority of gun-toting vigilantes, you instead have a population of students prepared to survive the worst.
The Constitution doesn't grant us the right to pack heat wherever and whenever we want. Allowing guns in our classrooms would forever alter the academic environment; instead of worrying about variables and historic dates, we're worrying about the kid in the desk next to us who's got a bulge on his side and if he made absolutely sure the safety was on before he left the apartment.
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