Since 2013, America has suffered from nearly 300 school shootings. In other words, there has been an average of at least one school shooting per week for the past five years. Quite clearly, the signs that read, “This is a Gun Free Campus,” are neither preventing nor stopping such carnage. America needs change.
While stricter gun laws and more in-depth and frequent background checks will better prevent the distribution of guns into the wrong-hands, they fail to provide protection for the circumstances in which yet another school falls victim to an armed attack. The most practical solution revolves around armed defense.
However, with immense responsibilities as is, teachers should not become responsible for the lives of their students during a shooting. Armed Veterans should be.
The men and women who once risked their lives in defense of American freedoms, now often struggle to re-assimilate within the workforce. According to AEI Citizenship, there are more than 1,000,000 unemployed Veterans in the United States. Unfortunately, there are many of whom who should not be given a gun within a school full of innocent children due to their ongoing suffering from combat related mental illnesses. However, there are countless other unemployed Veterans who are both physically and mentally capable of defending the nation’s student population. Such defense positions would not only add protection to our schools, but also take significant strides in addressing an ongoing matter of Veteran unemployment.
In an ideal situation, attempted school shootings will result in no fatalities. However, if any were to occur, I can assure you that much of society would rather it be the sole shooter rather than 17 students.
The modern day Israeli society quite clearly reflects the success of such a policy. When terrorists attacked a school in Maalot in 1974, the country did not declare every school a gun-free zone. Instead Israel passed a law mandating armed security in schools. Since then, there have been just two school shootings, both resulting in the death of the shooter rather than the students.
We live in a very soft and easily-offended world in which people’s focus upon gender identity and their tremendous fear of safe space violations blind them from the bigger picture that we need protection in schools. Honestly it’s pretty straightforward, the only thing that can stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. We need Armed Veterans.