Growing up, news of mass shootings was commonplace to me. I remember hearing about the shootings in Newtown, Las Vegas, Orlando and countless other communities. For my generation, hearing about the devastation of gun violence is tragically routine.
Even as I heard about gun violence around the country, I never really thought it would happen to my community. But, it did. Last year, a gunman stormed my school, killing 17 of my classmates and teachers. In an instant, my school was added to the list of mass shootings that have come to define my generation.
After surviving the mass shooting at my school, I did not know how to put the broken puzzle pieces back into my life. So, I decided to turn my grief into action to ensure another community did not have to go through the same horror that my classmates and I faced.
I want to ensure that our generation develops preventative policies to stop school shootings, so that the next generation does not have to live with the fear of being murdered while learning in school.
That’s why I am so concerned that lawmakers in Tallahassee have proposed legislation (SB 7030) that would allow Florida’s classroom teachers to carry guns in schools. The Senate is expected to take up the measure for debate in a floor session Wednesday with a likely vote next week.
There is no evidence that this will make me or my classmates any safer. In fact, arming teachers ignores research that shows the presence of a gun actually increases the risk to students. All arming teachers will do is increase the likelihood of gun violence in our schools.
Surviving a shooting, like I did at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, makes you really think about every proposal that lawmakers say will reduce gun violence. When I think about arming teachers, I have a lot of questions.
What is it that my teacher is supposed to do if they’re armed and there is an alert of a potential shooter on campus? Are they supposed to leave us to fend for ourselves in the classroom, while they try to track down the shooter? What happens if they mistake an innocent classmate of mine or another teacher as a threat, and fire at them? What happens when the police respond and see my teacher standing there with a gun? Will they assume the teacher is a threat, and fire?
These are the questions that will swirl in my head every single day if I know my teachers are armed. Arming teachers doesn’t create a safe and healthy learning environment. It just adds another reason for me and my friends to be anxious about our safety at school.
And, we’re right to be concerned. A few weeks ago, an Alabama teacher’s gun unintentionally discharged in his pocket while he was teaching a room full of first-graders. Before that, a teacher in Missouri had their gun stolen by a student during the school day.
There are better ways to protect our schools. Research shows that policies that keep guns out of the hands of people who should not have them — policies like requiring a criminal background check on every gun sale — actually save lives. There isn’t research that says the same thing about arming teachers.
That’s why teachers around the state have urged lawmakers to reject this reckless policy — they know it wouldn’t make us any safer. I hope our elected leaders in Tallahassee will listen to all the people who are worried about the consequences of arming teachers and oppose this policy.
