The Next Time a Teacher Accidentally Shoots a Student

Lawsuits, political firestorms and emotional turmoil will be just a few of the unintended consequences if schools allow teachers and staff to carry concealed weapons.

The media has contributed to the sensationalism of campus shootings over the past decade creating insurmountable pressures on campus leaders to provide solutions to a problem that has remained in debates among campus safety experts across the country for many years.

There is no doubt that an armed teacher will have the opportunity to attempt to protect his or her self and others in the unlikely event of a school shooting.  However, the concern for both teacher and school system needs to be the potential of collateral damage if a teacher or staff member inadvertently shoots an innocent bystander during a school shooting, if a teacher has an accidental discharge or if a student gains access to a teacher’s weapon and shoots a classmate and/or the teacher. 

It may be difficult to determine if increasing the amount of guns on a campus will deter crime or mitigate loss of life; however, one can only assume that it exponentially increases the opportunity for teachers to accidently shoot a student. In addition, one must ask who is the primary beneficiary of allowing teachers to carry concealed weapons on campus?  With the likelihood of a shooting occurring on campus being low it seems to be a reaction by lawmakers to appeal to individuals that support the Second Amendment.  What is absent from the thought process is the teachers and staff members perspective in light of the potential consequences of allowing these individuals to carry weapons into a classroom.

Shootings on college campuses or any school campus is an extreme and tragic event. The obvious solution seems to fight fire with fire, which sounds virtuous in theory until the individual that intended to protect takes an innocent life.                    

Ernets Burt III, M.C.J. is an associate dean of criminal justice and doctoral student. Oren Alter is a higher education associate vice chancellor of safety, security and crisis management.

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Note: The views expressed by guest bloggers and contributors are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, Campus Safety magazine.

 

 

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