School Violence, Public Safety, and Gun Control

[Rafael Bernardes Garcia]

The Marysville-Pilchuck High School, a Washington state high school, was evacuated today after receiving a bomb threat. The school was the scene of a shooting in 2014, which killed five teenagers, including the gun holder. After the school was evacuated, the police searched the entire campus using bomb-sniffing dogs, making sure there was no threat for the students and staff. Once the place was cleared, students and staff were allowed to go back to campus and get their cars.

This is the second time the same school is put through this type of danger, and it makes me wonder if there is anything we can do to improve the safety in our schools, both public and private. Most of the cases of shootings in schools end up with the shooter killing himself. In that case, the criminal has already been dealt with. We need, however, to protect our schools in preventive ways. We must prevent tragedies like these from happening with such frequency. This also brings me to the topic of gun control policies, since most of school tragedies are shootings. Should our gun control laws be modified in order to reduce the number of unstable/dangerous people with gun possession? Should gun control laws be established by the federal government or by the states? Please share your thoughts.

 

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/washington-state-high-school-scene...

[Brooke Aten]

Hey Rafael,

This is a really good topic for discussion. I personally think that it may be hard to modify the number of unstable/dangerous people with gun possession because not everyone who has a gun goes by these laws. I know of people who have guns that do not have a licence or that do not follow the laws that are already established about gun control. I just think anyone can go get a gun's license and the government be naive to what the person may actually do with the gun. They could make up a reason of use and then use it to harm others. This is a big concern in our world today. What about the shootings that involved the younger people?They clearly were not old enough to have a licence and yet they still somehow got a gun. That's why I am saying there needs to be some other way that people are protected from people using guns to harm people. Because reality is that people are going to find a way to get a gun and do whatever they plan to do. At least that's how it seems.

[Regina Dixon]

This is a great example of how not even government can control the increasing danger that exists in our school systems or anywhere else for that matter.  The control starts with the individual and what goes on in their heart and mind.  This being said, I don't think that any amount of gun control will make a difference. Times have certainly changed from when my grandparents were growing up and even from when I was growing up.  I never went to school and had to worry about whether or not someone was going to come in shooting.  It use to be that you only heard about bad things happening in certain parts of the world or certain neighborhoods, but those days are over.  It can happen anywhere and at any time.  It is really sad and disturbing to see and hear about the issues that take place in the world today.