Feb. 29, 2008

Allowing guns on campus won't make our students safer

Ted Maish, Opinions, Your View
The Arizona Republic

After 30 years of serving the students and parents of Arizona as a public high school teacher, I feel that I can speak first hand to the current issue of guns on campuses. 

First, let’s clear the air. I am a gun owner and believe in the right to bear arms.  This is not an issue of gun control, but of common sense and the best interest of safety in our school.

In Senator Karen Johnson’s February 15, 2008 Arizona Republic column,she claims that an armed presence on our campuses will deter those who plan mass public shootings.  “Even thugs, it turns out, care about protecting their skin and are less likely to engage in a violent act if they think someone might oppose them,” she says. “People who engage in mass public shooting are deterred by even the possibility that law-abiding citizens may be carrying guns.  Shooters may be deranged, but they still appear to care whether they will themselves be shot as they attempt to kill others.” 

The fallacy in her thinking is that in all of the past mass shootings on our campuses, the shooter or shooters stepped onto the school premises with the intent to die.  Much like suicide bombers, these irrational people are on a suicide mission and end up killing themselves at the end of the spree.  To say we can deter this behavior with the threat of death is tragically naïve.

Our schools, in conjunction with law enforcement experts, have developed a procedure to follow in the rare case that one of these events occurs.  The current “lockdown” program allows for immediate securing of the campus and allows law enforcement to handle the situation, minimizing confusion.  To have nonprofessional gunmen on campus makes the job of law enforcement more difficult.

I was teaching high school when the School Resource Officer (SRO) program was initiated in our school district, placing a full sworn, commissioned law enforcement officer on assignment within local schools.  These SRO’s are law enforcement specialists trained in protecting schools, acting as problem solvers and liaisons to the community. They help in developing and improving crisis plans, evacuations and other safety concern.  But more importantly, they build a rapport with the students and are a source for questions and advice.  This program has had an encouraging impact on the campus where I worked, providing a safer and more positive atmosphere.

Perhaps Sen. Johnson’s time would be better spent balancing the budget and figuring out how to invest in children, schools, and jobs in Arizona.  Clearly, the current legislative priorities are not in order.