In reviewing my research, I found something else that was interesting. Data from the Pew Research Center regarding what students themselves thought would make their schools safer. These are the top answers students gave.
#1: Prevent those with mental health issues from legally owning a firearm.
#2: Improve mental health screening and treatment.
#3: Metal detectors.
#4: Additional gun control.
#5: Allowing armed school staff.
In the past year, there’s been only one meaningful change in policy, and it was one of the suggestions of the students. Allowance for armed school staff. A year ago the Stoneman Douglas School Safety Act was already law in Florida, but the expansion of the Guardian Act just took place in Florida.
Now, which of those five answers provided is the only clear opportunity to potentially stop school shootings today? Metal detectors.
The recent Colorado school shooting helps illustrate the point. The guns used weren’t legally owned and at least one of the shooters had been diagnosed and treated for mental health issues. There have been five school shootings in 2019 that are applicable to our overall concerns regarding school safety. Only metal detectors had the potential to prevent all of them. It’s clear that if we want to genuinely do what we can to protect our schools,we must add metal detectors ASAP. It’s time to advocate for metal detectors again in advance of the 2019-2020 school year.
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