Among the many issues that Americans have constantly been debating, those involving firearms have become increasingly important. In light of the tragic shooting that took place in Newtown, CT., many Americans have been suggesting school staff members should be allowed to carry concealed weapons in order to defend students, and themselves, from a potentially dangerous situation. Although this may seem like a viable solution to this issue, it is ultimately a vacuous,impetuous, and ineffective solution. The addition of guns to a school zone would, in actuality, increase the danger students are exposed to rather than decrease it.
Although many would argue that staff members are responsible and should be allowed to carry handguns, it would actually be an obstruction to school life and police officers. As ProCon.org states in their article, “Should Adults Have the Right to Carry a Concealed Handgun?”, “the chances of a handgun being used inappropriately increase when normally responsible adults are intoxicated, tired, afraid, or untrained in conflict resolution”(ProCon.org 3) It is evident that carrying a firearm is a very stressful obligation, so to add that to an adult's list of already towering responsibilities could possibly push them over their limit. A staff member could use the weapon to their advantage, or could possibly cause more harm instead of stopping the threat. The same article additionally states, “responsible adults with concealed handguns make it more difficult for police to distinguish criminals from ordinary citizens and to identify perpetrators during a shooting.” When the police arrive at the scene of distress, they are left unsure of who the dangerous shooter is. This would cause immense confusion among police force for they must guess who the shooter is and could wrongly identify the shooter causing more lives to be at risk. Ultimately, an armed staff member would only impede the police force's task and bring avoidable issues into schools.
Additionally, having an armed and inexperienced teacher wielding a firearm would bring a new troublesome situation into schools.“Opinion: Concealed Carry Laws Won't Make Chicago Safer”, declares that in the town of Flint, Mich., where anyone without a felony conviction can carry a concealed firearm, the amount of yearly murders is triple that of Chicago, a city which has a population almost twenty-eight times that of Flint and does not allow citizens to carry concealed weapons(NBC Chicago 2). As clearly seen, the easy access to guns and permission to carry them is correlated with high death rates. By allowing staff members to carry handguns, it does not reduce, but instead raises the amount of danger students are exposed to. Likewise, “the concealed carrying of handguns increases the likelihood of unintended shootings taking place”(ProCon.org 3). Staff members are more likely to cause an accidental shooting having a handgun in their possession. Now, not only do students have to worry about a psychotic shooter entering the school grounds, but also have to worry of a teacher unexpectedly shooting someone. Fundamentally, with the presence of handguns on school grounds, students are consequently exposed and put in harm's way.
Nevertheless, people argue that by not allowing staff members of schools to carry concealed handguns is an infringement of the Second Amendment of the Constitution and their freedom is being taken away. Although it may seem that way, the Constitution of the United States never truly states that common citizens are allowed to carry concealed weapons. In “Myths and Facts About Gun Violence in America”, it states that in court cases, such as Heller v. D.C. and McDonald v. Chicago, “courts across the nation have found a wide range of firearm law constitutional”(TheJoyceFoundation 2). Courts all over the nation have found laws constraining gun use in America as