Gun Violence: In the last 48 hours since the mass murder at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas and there are pundits yelling to arm teachers, lock all doors, and even have armed security guards at every corner of a school. But has anyone asked the people who work in schools all day (i.e., teachers) about what would work for protecting students?
We did, and overwhelmingly, teachers gave a list of actions that state legislators and school districts can take NOW.
Solutions
- Enhanced Training: Licensing and mandatory training for all gun owners. We overwhelming heard that the model used when people buy cars could be followed. Gun owners should have to go through enhanced training and licensing. There has been evidence from previous school shooters who have said that if there were a waiting period and mandatory training, they wouldn’t have completed their plans.
- Ban certain guns. Stop the sale of assault rifles, weapons, accessories, ammunition, and military equipment off our streets and out of the hands of civilians. This would include body armor, ghost guns, and assault rifle bans. As an added caution, close gun sale loopholes and require background checks on all commercial gun sales.
- Enhance security measures at schools. All schools should have armed guards with buzz-in systems and two-tiered entry systems to enter and leave. In addition, the money should come from federal funds for all schools. All visitors inside the school should have to preregister and go through a metal detector before coming into the school.
- Better Mental Health Services: The federal government should fund comprehensive mental health treatment for the public with/without insurance. This would include mandatory mental health screenings and an evidence-based approach to treat students who exhibit symptoms of mental health.
- Ban violent video games: Create legislation that effectively bans violent video games and/or has developers take responsibility for the content they produce.
- More School Safety Staff: Schools are so short-staffed right now, and extra security staff will be needed to patrol the halls and parking lots. These new positions would also help with students who are behavior problems.
- Require all classrooms to stay locked. All classroom doors should be locked from the inside with a panic button that a teacher wears and can activate from their desk if/when there is an emergency. All classroom windows should be bulletproof, with the ability to see out but not see in at any time.
- Require universal background checks for anyone wanting to buy a weapon. As part of the background check, there should be a 24-48 hour waiting period and a complimentary safety class for users.
- Develop the research needed to study gun violence. Currently, there’s a prohibition on gun violence research by the CDC. In 2019, Congress reached a deal to fund research on gun violence for the first time in over two decades. To date, lawmakers have allocated $25 million between the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health each year.
- Targeted legislation. A first stop would be legislation such as the Extreme Risk Protection Order Act, a “red flag” bill, to allow relatives and law enforcement to remove firearms from an individual in crisis temporarily.
Next Steps
In the aftermath of 19 students and two teachers being killed, a small group of Democratic and Republican senators has begun talks to strike a bipartisan gun deal. Despite this glimmer of hope, President Biden has no illusion on congressional action. The N.R.A. was scheduled to have a conference in Houston, and several high-profile guests (including Governor Greg Abbott) have dropped out.
