In the wake of a tragedy, like the shooting at Marshall County High School in Kentucky that took two lives and injured dozens more, it is often hard to come to terms with the next step. What should we as a country be doing in order to prevent future shootings and to protect our children?
In the United States, there has been much talk amongst citizens and lawmakers about strengthening gun laws, having stricter background checks, and requiring a mental health evaluation before purchasing a gun. All of these proposed ideas seem like they would create positive change and yield real results. But unfortunately, Kentucky lawmakers are going a different direction, and one thing that definitely isn't going to help the problem, more guns.
Kentucky's Republican governor and legislature refuse to even consider any gun control laws. Instead, they are considering allowing teachers or staff to carry guns on campus. Teachers in Kentucky schools will now be known as their "school marshal." They believe that this will not necessarily stop all school shootings, but will reduce the chances of them happening if teachers have better means to stop them.
This absolutely blows my mind that lawmakers believe that the answer to gun violence is more guns. Allowing guns in the classroom is perhaps the worst idea they could come up with. Schools are supposed to be a safe zone of learning and peace, and although school shootings do happen, I believe they would only increase if teachers and administrators were allowed guns in schools. This would grant students not only the access to the guns, but make the process of getting a gun easier for them.
Students would no longer have to go through the process of buying their own gun, they would just be able to steal their teachers. I am fully aware that the guns will be locked away, but someone capable of killing innocent people is more than capable of stealing from their teacher.
I encourage everyone to speak out to their legislators to say that we as Kentuckians do NOT want this. We do not want this for our children.
Instead, we should all implore our legislators to consider strengthening gun laws because that is both what Kentucky and our country need.
I encourage you all to reach out to our state representatives and make a change. Their contact information can be found here.
