There are really two ways to look at guns in schools.  One is that they protect teachers and students.  The other way is that they endanger them.  Of those two opinions, never the twain shall meet.

This fall, more than 20 teachers, administrators and school employees will be carrying a gun to work.  They are taking advantage of a law that allows armed guards to carry guns on school premises.

gun and a chalkboard that says school

Guns don’t belong in schools. Image: Shutterstock

Of course, the NRA is ecstatic as they continue to proclaim how much safer everyone will be.  How, exactly, is unclear.

The Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings shocked the nation and put everyone on alert.  The media images were heartbreaking.  My immediate thought was not to put more guns in schools, but to keep them far, far away.  Schools seem like the last place in the world guns should be.

What, you ask, could possibly go wrong?  Well, it’s not out of the scope of possibility for a child to get his or her hands on said gun and use it.  A student could have a bad day, steal the gun and kill themselves.  A teacher could go ballistic after one too many disruptions.  Anything could happen.  A gun has no other purpose than to do damage.

gun and apple

Keep guns out of schools. Image: Shutterstock

So, what if they lock the gun in a safe and store the bullets in a separate area?  In that case, if a gunman were to enter the school, the time it would take to unlock a safe, go get bullets, arm the gun and shoot would be too long.  So, what’s the point of allowing guns at all?

Further, untrained teachers carrying guns could result in a student getting shot in an emergency situation.  If the teacher were to miss the target and accidentally shoot a student, could they be sued?  Or, what if a teacher’s gun gets taken by the assailant and used against the teacher?

There are a million “what ifs,” and none of them has a happy ending.  Fight the urge to give in to “alarmist” thinking. Arming is not the answer.