The Vindicator
March 25, 2018
There was yet another school shooting last week – this one
in Maryland. A school resource officer shot and killed the assailant after two
students were gravely wounded. This will further intensify the debate over
arming teachers.
President Donald Trump and the National Rifle Association
argued in the aftermath of the massacre in Parkland, Fla., that enabling
teachers to shoot back could save lives and could deter potential shooters from
entering a school.
Trump clarified that he believes only those “adept” at using
firearms should be armed not all teachers.
Teachers already are carrying concealed guns in a handful of
states, including Ohio.
The idea of arming teachers is rooted in the NRA rhetoric
that the only thing that can stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a
gun. However, as America watched video footage from the Parkland shooting, the
good guys with guns stayed outside the building while the bad guy was firing
away.
School shootings
According to the Washington Post, since 2000 there have been
school shootings in 43 of the 50 states which have left about 250 students, and
teachers, dead. Even one student losing his or her life in, or around, a school
is a horrific tragedy.
Between 2002 and 2014, 6 percent of all gun-related deaths
involving children 17 and under were unintentional or accidental deaths.
According to The Journal of Pediatrics. the average number of children killed
by gunfire annually is about 1,300. That means in the 13 years between 2002 and
2014 about 1,000 children died as a result of accidental shootings, four times
the number of students intentionally killed in school shootings.
Therefore, bringing more guns into schools is not the
answer.
Recently, a teacher at a northern California high school
accidentally fired his gun inside a classroom, causing minor injuries to three
students.
The teacher, a reserve police officer “adept” at firearms,
was pointing the gun at the ceiling to make sure it was not loaded when it
discharged inside his classroom.
Accidents happen all the time in schools. However, an
accident with a gun can be fatal.
Written permission
In Ohio, a school board can give written permission to a
teacher to carry a firearm into a school.
Without written permission even a teacher with a
concealed-carry license must leave his weapon in the vehicle, according to Ohio
Senate Bill 199, passed in March of last year.
Austintown Superintendent Vince Colaluca told The Vindicator
this month that it is illegal to bring a firearm onto school grounds. An
exception to the rule is an armed police officer.
“You go into education because you want to help kids become
better citizens,” Colaluca told The Vindicator. “As long as we’re financially
capable to provide the protection, we’ll continue to do so.”
There are school boards in Ohio that have authorized
teachers to carry weapons but they don’t have to tell parents or the public.
“[S]chool boards do not have to publicize the fact that
they’re allowing teachers to arm themselves,” Sara Clark, legal counsel for the
Ohio School Boards Association, told the Columbus Dispatch. She said she is
unaware of an official list and couldn’t estimate how many of Ohio’s 610 public
school districts might allow teachers to carry weapons.
Free teacher training
Since 2013, the nonprofit, pro-gun, Buckeye Firearms
Foundation has been offering free firearm training specifically for educators.
On its website an essay is posted that provides, “Some kids need chemo. Some
need armed protection. The fact that both are “rare” events is of little
comfort when yours is the child in need.”
The fact that a child needs chemotherapy is devastating –
but other students are not at risk during treatment. More guns in school
increases the likelihood of an accident that can lead to a student’s injury or
death.
Matthew T. Mangino, a fromer district attorney in Lawrence
County, Pa., is of counsel with Luxenberg, Garbett, Kelly & George P.C. His
book”The Executioner’s Toll, 2010” was released by McFarland Publishing. You
can reach him at www.mattmangino.com and follow him on Twitter @MatthewTMangino
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