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| Katie Johnston Photo by: Corey Hammonds |
SAN MARCOS, Texas — In wake of an increasing number of mass school shootings, President Trump is advocating that teachers, K-12, voluntarily carry firearms for future school safety.
According to ABC15, in the year of 2017 there had been 65 recorded school shootings. As of this year, there has already been over two dozen school shootings across the nation.
Teachers being allowed to open carry on school grounds is first up to the state and then up to the school board, if they want to implement this policy.
Katie Johnston, a public administration major at Texas State, said that the parents should be the one that gets to decide if the teachers should be armed or not.
“In the state of Texas we get our money for public education through property taxes. I definitely think that the parents are going to end up paying for it. That’s why I think the parents should have the choice because they are the ones who are going to have to pay for it,” said Johnston.
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| Chloe Butler Photo by: Corey Hammonds |
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| Rick Willet Photo by: Brianna Fisher |
Many future teachers have spoken out about their concern on handling guns around their students.
Chloe Butler, future educator, said how she thinks we can implement ex-military, veterans or local volunteers for an alternative to school safety.
“Now, I'm not saying I wouldn't want to do that if I was in that situation [firing a gun,] but I don't want to be the one held responsible to have to protect everyone with a gun. I don't know if I could step up to the plate in that situation and be successful,” said Butler.
Rick Willet, a parent and a student here at the university, said that he believes in the second amendment and that it also protects all the other amendments. In regards to the topic of teachers being armed on campus, Willet believes the teacher has to want to have a firearm in order to be effective.
“The teacher has to want too, because the person who doesn’t want to is not going to be effective or they aren’t going to take care of the store of the fire arms and keep it from getting into the kids hands,” said Willet.
Raising the purchasing age for a firearm became a trend in responses from Texas State students and staff. The age to purchase a gun being raised to 21-years-old seemed to be reasonable for both party sides.
Jaime Bouzard, a 40-year-old chaplain, said there are several alternatives other than arming teachers around students.
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| Jaime Bouzard Photo by:Shelley Keller |
March For Our Lives, was a march that was led by students across the country on March 24. The march aimed to enforce stricter gun laws in the United States, protestors said.
Garret Hanson, student at Texas State, said that every teacher has a right to practice their second amendment. Hanson is a gun owner who believes everyone should have at least one gun.
“It’s fine [gun ownership] as it’s done through the legal like process, background checks, making sure that the person you’re buying it from is just as responsible as the person that you’re selling it to. Accountability has to come down to that,” said Hanson.
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| Garret Hanson Photo by: Rachel Lauten and Sierra Tyler |
Future teachers have spoken out about their concern for their field of work. School shootings have always been around, but the percentage is rising at an accelerated rate.
Leela Rao, future educator, is an advocate against guns in the school environment. Rao said that where she teaches is going to be based off on whether the school district allows open carry in her school or not.
“When I started college three years ago, it was not remotely a thought of ‘Oh I’m going to be a teacher, like that’s a dangerous profession,’ but unfortunately, that’s kind of the reality now. I’m confident that I’ll teach somewhere that aligns with what I believe in,” said Rao.
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| Leela Rao Photo by: Melissa Monrroy and Camelia Juraez |
Mass school shootings are rising across the country and there is a constant debate on how to take action effectively. Each state has their own set of laws, but to come aware of gun laws in each state visit the NRA-ILA website.
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