The staff editorial is the majority opinion of The Murray State News Editorial Board.
Another week, another school shooting. It is an exhausting conversation to have over and over again. Not because it shouldn’t be discussed, but because things are not changing. No matter how intense the debate becomes, our legislators have accomplished next to nothing in preventing future gun violence.
There have been 18 reports of such violence on school campuses this year (this includes incidents in which there were no casualties and/or when school was not in session). That is 18 different times which student’s lives were put in jeopardy. That is 18 different instances in which mental health education, stricter gun laws and a willingness to learn from past inaction could have kept our students safe.
But it has not happened. Legislators who have accepted thousands upon thousands of dollars from the National Rifle Association have failed us. Those who lobby against gun control (because they apparently do not understand the difference between the words “control” and “ban”) have failed us.
It is time we, a country of people seemingly controlled by fear, prejudice and resistance to change, take matters into our own hands.
The shooting survivors at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida are doing just that. Since the Feb. 14 shooting, several students have spoken out and made it clear the nation’s youth is fed up with inaction.
In a statement, junior Cameron Kasky’s position was quite clear. “My message for the people in office is: You’re either with us or against us. We are losing our lives while the adults are playing around,” Kasky said.
Her comments mirrored those of her fellow students, those who have lived the horrors of gun violence firsthand. The bickering about the merits of gun control have done nothing but waste time, and our young people see that. Critics are downplaying these students’ concerns as products of a traumatic experience, as if their worries are of no importance.
It’s because these students survived to speak out that we should be listening to them. Yes, they have experienced something awful and vile. But that doesn’t discredit what they have to say. We should be listening.
And it doesn’t stop at the students. Educators across the country are debating how to best protect the youth in their care.
Institutions are adopting the ALICE Training safety principles to ensure the future safety of their students. ALICE stands for alert, lockdown, inform, counter and evacuate; it’s a system which allows students and educators to gauge the situation at hand, and if need be, do whatever it takes to distract and/or disarm intruders.
Arming teachers is one approach to the ALICE principles, a tactic which has gained support over the past few weeks. Sheriff Richard K. Jones of Butler County, Ohio made the news when he announced he would provide free firearm training for local teachers.
“We need to be prepared,” Jones said. “This is not going to stop or go away,”
It is a controversial proposal. Many schools already employ resource officers, law enforcement personnel who are responsible for patrolling school grounds. Is adding more guns to the mix the right answer? It’s not a decision anyone wants to make, but it is likely some will go this route.
“Am I willing to die for my students” is a question present and future educators are asking themselves. College prepares teachers for the content they’ll be discussing, but not these situations in which they are being forced to risk their own lives in an increasingly common scenario.
Mental health education is another important facet of the conversation. We have done a poor job helping those with mental illnesses in the past and it’s coming back to haunt us.
President Donald Trump, after the Parkland shooting, said he would “tackle the difficult issue of mental health.” However, the recent federal budget proposes deep cuts to many outlets for such services.
Mental health services under the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration would see cuts, as would those provided by another target of the administration, Medicaid. The GOP has recently touted mental illness as one of the leading causes of gun violence; how exactly does cutting access to such services align with this conclusion? You tell us.
The Marshall County shooting left a wound in our community that won’t heal for a long time. We hoped it would be a turning point for gun violence in our country.
We were wrong. However, there is hope. Survivors of these tragedies are banding together, speaking out and demanding change. They will not take no for answer- we should follow their lead.