How To Prevent Mass Shootings

Matthew Thomas, Editor-in-Chief

Mass and or school shootings have become commonplace in American society. It is mind blowing how easy it is to obtain a killing machine capable of taking another human’s life. It has been an ongoing debate for years on how to prevent these shootings. Some believe there is nothing we can do, and we just need to be more vigilant and aware before these shootings occur. Others have suggested we should arm teachers and school staff, and of course a quite popular opinion is that guns should be banned altogether.

Arming teachers/staff or even as some recommended, students, is not a good idea. Adding more guns and more bullets means adding more crossfire and death to the end result. There are bound to be cases of accidental shootings, cases of people snapping and using the gun when no one expected, and innocent people dying when the shooter was the intended target. More guns simply equals more chance of needless death. Another scenario a lot of people don’t consider is that guns teachers carry can just be used as extra ammo for a shooter if they can get their hands on them. It is also a lot to ask of teachers to put up with everything they already do, but now they have to be armed security as well? It is not smart.

Banning guns isn’t necessarily a bad idea on paper, it is simply unlikely and ineffective. The NRA is extremely powerful and influential in congress, so it will prove a Herculean task to ban any type of firearm, especially with the 2cd amendment in place. It will also create more crime if you think about it. People are determined, and they are going to find a way to get what they want, illegal or not. If you make assault rifles illegal, people will just go to the black market or do illegal things to obtain them, therefore creating more crime. Drugs are illegal, and I can guarantee you that 65% of the people you spoke to today have easy access to illegal substances. Just because you put a label on it and say you aren’t allowed to have it, it will not at all stop people from obtaining it.

There are other methods that would prove more effective however.

Place metal detectors on school entrances/exits. It may seem as an inconvenience to some, having to take out your phone, your car keys, your laptop, your camera, cleats, baseball bat ect.. and it’ll take longer to get to class. But this way, we will be able to tell right away if someone has a weapon in their possession, and if they do, a loud alarm will sound alerting people to seek cover if there is a threat. I would absolutely be willing to take 15 more minutes to enter the building rather than risk my life knowing someone may have a firearm in their book bag or sports bag which no one had any idea about. It may be expensive and time consuming, but it would prevent a shooter from entering the building with a firearm without being caught.

Lengthen and tighten up background checks and requirements to purchase any firearm. So instead of walking in and buying a gun, it is more like you are applying to own a weapon, and you have to be approved. It also wouldn’t harm to make the applicant explain why he or she wants a gun. If they claim they’re a hunter, ask them what animals they’ve hunted before, where they’ve hunted those animals, what guns they’ve used and what age they at started out at. Raise the age to even be eligible to buy a gun to 21, that way no current students at high schools would be capable of legally obtaining a gun. Also, a majority of 21 year olds are slightly more responsible and mature than 18 year olds.

Require background checks to include any and all necessary past events to be in question. Anger issues, bookings into jail, previous assaults, admittance into rehabilitation centers of any kind should all be thoroughly reviewed by many people before determining whether the person can own a weapon. This also comes with another suggestion, making it more expensive and lengthy and overall difficult to expunge (clear) an individuals record. That way, all of the individuals past records can be accessed. Anyone with a history of anger, fighting, assaults, stabbings, shootings, parol violations, ect… should not be allowed to buy a gun. This would diminish the chances of someone potentially dangerous to legally own a weapon. This may sound harsh, but if we truly strengthened our background checks for weapons, we could put out the fire from the base and prevent a future killer from even buying a weapon in the first place.

Beef up security in schools, arm them and let it be known. Have professionally trained police officers or reserved military members act as security guards for schools that know how to handle a weapon and have been cleared through a thorough background check for sanity. Along with this, put up multiple signs indicating that there is armed security on campus. This would deter a potential shooter, and would definitely stop them or at the very least slow a shooter down before they are able to kill a double digit number of people. Some may argue that we shouldn’t be sending our kids to schools that have the same elements as prisons, but I rebuttal that in these desperate times, we need to do anything and everything we can to prevent another mass shooting. Also, if your kid isn’t planning on doing anything that would require security to stop them, there should be no problem at all.

Build schools and emergency response buildings in close proximity with each other. From now on, any school campus from elementary all the way up to college should be within 5 miles of a police station. This would also be expensive, but it would allow for law enforcement to respond much quicker than ever before. It would also rise the chances of a shooter being caught and stopped before more lives could be taken. Schools miles away from police stations are sitting ducks, and are left to fend for themselves in times of shootings in the past.

At the end of the day, we are never completely safe. There will always be someone out there with the intent to harm others. The best we can do is prepare for the worst, practice protocol, and be brave.