Should Teachers Be Banned?

Homicide, with an average of thirteen children per day, is the second leading cause of death among America’s youth. Contrary to popular belief only 2% of this violence occur on school ground (“School-Associated Violent Death Study”). With this in mind, should teachers be armed? A gun in the home makes the likelihood of homicide three times higher, suicide three to five times higher, and accidental death four times higher (“Protect Children Not Guns”). A school is no different: the more guns the more need to use them. The idea behind arming teachers is to add safety. If only 2% of homicides occur on school grounds, guns being allowed would only increase that percent. Guns would add danger, fear, and stress to an already chaotic environment.

Proof of this is seen in Utah. Utah allows its teachers to carry guns in school. At Westbrook Elementary a teacher was using the restroom when she unintentionally shot herself in the leg . The same event occurred at a University. During a chemistry lab the instructor was wounded in the foot when a concealed handgun fired in his pocket (“List of school shootings in America”). A class was simply trying to learn when all of a sudden the teacher was in the hospital. In addition, a study found that 21% of officers killed by a gun were shot by their own weapon. The same study found that only 29% of shots fired by officers hit the intended target . Official officers that have been put through extensive training still struggled with a handgun. If the training an officer receives with automatic weapons is not enough, teachers will definitely not receive adequate training. What is more, the smallness of a classroom makes the circumstance more difficult for a teacher. The teacher would be required to have faster reflexes and better aim than the average officer must have (“Arming Teachers? The facts argue against it” ). Even the American Federation of Teachers, with its 1.5 million members, opposes arming teachers (Granderson). The reason for this is that teachers will not be able to protect the classroom when needed. When

There is no recorded data specifically for armed adults in schools, but it was found that people with guns in their home are at a greater risk of homicide than those without (Gorman-Smith and McLauglin). A gun in a school would prove no different than a gun in a home. Information shows that guns creates a more vulnerable environment, not a more protected one. In fact, in states with increased gun availability death rates from gunshots for children were higher not lower ("Gun Violence: Facts and Statistics”). It is a truth universally acknowledged that more guns in an environment means more shots fired. Since 2007, the Violence Policy Center has observed a minimum of 579 fatal incidents involving concealed carry permit holders nationwide ("Concealed Carry Permit Holders Threaten Public Safety, VPC Research Shows”). The ability to carry guns causes problems all across America; therefore, bringing guns into schools would also cause problems. Despite the common assumption, holding a gun does not provide extra protection it rather endangers everyone.
Though the majority finds arming teachers the solution to all problems, the majority is utterly mistaken. Arming teachers is not the answer in that it creates a danger in the classroom, teachers are not trained, and teachers themselves could be the intruder. A child or teen dies or is injured from guns every thirty minutes