In the last few weeks, a major news topic has been gun control. Unfortunately, it has become such a major news topic as of late, due to the multitude of recent school shootings. These tragic events have led to the conflict of whether or not gun control is the answer.
I am writing not for or against guns, but for our future. I am writing for the children. Our future is dependent upon the lives of the innocent children, who do not need to become victims or another news story of tragedy, they need to be children. They should only be concerned with what is for lunch that day, not whether or not they are going to die before lunch period even begins.
As secure as we try to be, schools aren't as safe as people think, especially public schools. Public school systems do not have the money to do a lot of renovation or hiring of more security. Most schools have a broken lock or two somewhere, and that can be the difference that could cost one or many children their lives.
School shootings have become such a problem, that there's a company called BulletBlocker, and many others like it, that are making Kevlar backpacks, binders, organizers, and even Kevlar panels to place inside of ordinary backpacks to make them bulletproof. The company was started by a United States Veteran who saw the problem and that despite preventative measures being taken, people were still dying.
Why has it gotten to the point that students need Kevlar gear just to walk to and from class? School should not be a war zone. These children are the future of our country and we are not taking all of the preventative actions necessary for their safety.
The standard care for response to acts of violence, such as an active shooter, as identified by the U.S. Department of Education is the "run, hide, fight". It says to run or escape and if that is not possible, to hide, and as a last resort, attempt to fight the attacker.
The BulletBlocker's Instagram and website have information on self-defense techniques and support safe and responsible ownership of firearms as well as projectchildsafe.org.
Gun owners should always lock up their gun, always store ammunition separately from their gun, and be open and honest when teaching your child about gun safety and what to do should they find a gun. Despite all of the information available, people still do not follow proper guns safety and it can end badly for many.
Children shouldn't have to wear Kevlar to school, but until people start to implement change, it seems that bulletproof backpacks, are the only thing saving their lives.
