Stand up for arming teachers with concealed weapons on campus to prevent another school shooting.

In light of the recent horrific mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, which took place on February 14, 2018  and killed 17 staff members and students of the school, this bloody mass murders brings up the question of gun control laws and a very intriguing question: should teachers be equipped with guns?

For many people, we think yes.

Teachers armed with concealed weapons have a higher chance of ending school shootings faster than not having a gun. Instead of standing in the face of danger with nothing to defend themselves with, they will have something to fight with, and could end an active situation faster.

The Commander-in-Chief is behind it. “I want certain highly adept people, people who understand weaponry, and guns to have a permit to carry concealed firearms in schools,” said President Trump during his second White House meeting to discuss how to respond to an active shooter on campus. “If the coach had a firearm in his locker when he ran at this guy, the coach was very brave…but if he had a firearm he wouldn’t have had to run…he would have shot and that would have been the end of it.”

The “coach” President Trump refers to was assistant football coach Aaron Fies who died shielding students from the shooter at Douglas High School.

PRHS students support the idea, too.

“I believe that teachers should have guns and that it should be their choice,” said sophomore Ethan Breese. “They don’t have to be forced to carry one, but if they get their CCW and have extensive training they should be allowed that choice.”

As the gun discussion grows heated in the wake of this horrific shooting, counter arguments are being made.

“There is just not enough evidence to support the idea that a teacher would be able to neutralize a threat,” said Amy Klinger, the director of programs at the Educator’s School Safety Network.

But despite these arguments, people are still begging the question if this is enough to protect our future generation.

With the thought of arming teachers with concealed weapons up in the air, experts are turning to the ideas of increasing police presence, hiring more security guards, and installing metal detectors, door buzzers, security cameras and barricades in schools.

Proactive ideas such as investing in mental health counseling and peer mediation, practicing active shooter drills, and manning doors and hallways with teachers – not security guards -whom students know and trust. But the solution with the most power and speed in neutralizing a threat? A gun in the hand of a teacher.