Ten years after Sandy Hook: Are our schools safer?
Today marks the 10th anniversary of the Sandy Hook massacre in Newtown, Connecticut. Ten years ago a 20 year old gunman walked into Sandy Hook elementary school armed with an AR-15 and opened fire killing 20 first graders and six educators. No doubt one of the saddest days in American history.
At the time, I was a middle school art teacher at Terrell Lane Middle School in Franklin County, NC. It was the last week of classes before winter break. We were listening to holiday music as my 6th graders quietly worked on their artwork. I was across the room helping a student when the news bulletin broke about the school shooting at Sandy Hook.
Upon hearing the tragic news, I leaped across the room in an effort to turn off the radio to shield my students from hearing the awful details. I was not fast enough. The students, as well as I, were left speechless in a sea of uncomfortable silence.
We could not find our words. Suddenly the dam broke and students started peppering me with questions.
Did they just say 20 first graders were shot?
Who would want to shoot innocent kids? They didn’t do anything wrong.
Why would you shoot a teacher?
Did the shooter know them?
The most profound questions I believe asked that day was:
Am I safe?
How did the shooter get into the school with a gun?
And why did he have a “war gun”?
A “war gun”. That is how this 6th grade student described that gun.
I too, asked the same questions. Are we safe? What would I do if an active shooter was in my school?
And why and how did he have access to an AR-15? A rapid fire gun clearly designed to kill a lot of people and kill them quickly. Why is he and other Americans allowed to own such a weapon?
Just eight years prior to Sandy Hook, Congress allowed the assault weapons ban that was put into place in 1994 to expire. Shortly thereafter, the market was flooded with military style weapons. The #1 gun used in mass shootings in America is an AR-15.
I really don’t want to engage in a gun debate over gun rights and 2ndA. I believe you should be able to own a gun, if that is your choice, but I am for gun reform. I believe we should have sensible laws governing who can buy guns, how many and what type of guns the average person should be allowed to own.
I found this article interesting and it brings up some good points. It is written by Michael Fanone, former DC police officer. He was injured at the January 6th insurrection and suffered a heart attack a day after the Capital Riots. Here’s the reason people tell me they want to buy an AR-15
What I want to address today is the pressure that is placed on schools to solve school shootings.
School is the last place where anyone should have to worry about gun violence. For the last 20 years students, educators, and parents have had to live with the reality of school shootings. It’s no longer a question of will there be a school shooting this year, it’s a question of where will there be a school shooting? A sad reality we live in.
In the wake of the most recent school shootings fingers pointed at what schools didn’t do or what schools should be doing. The conversation was all about schools and what schools were not doing. Personally, I think the fingers should be pointing at our lawmakers and what they are failing to do.
The failure of our leaders to address the root cause of gun violence from all angles has left thousands of children traumatized by gun violence.
There is no question that schools need to take the necessary steps to secure campuses so that students, faculty and staff are safe, but schools can not do it alone. There needs to be funding and legislation in place to make this happen and that is the responsibility of our elected leaders.
Ultimately, it is the responsibility of “we the people” who are charged with the responsibility of electing these leaders. Elections have consequences and we have seen lawmakers who have pledged allegiance to the NRA, rather than to the safety of children in our schools. As a result, children and teachers have died because of their refusal to pass sensible gun legislation.
We can not allow dangerous ideas like arming teachers dominate the debate. A teacher can not magically transform from educator to highly trained law enforcement officer all in a moment’s notice, while blindsided and under duress and confusion. That simply is not a solution and having more guns and bullets inside the walls of our schools will create more problems.
Thoughts and prayers, while appreciated, are also not a solution.
I fully admit I do not have all the answers, however, I do have some ideas. I think a good place to start would be for Congress to conduct an in depth study into gun violence and paint a very clear picture of what gun violence looks like.
Within that study, a sub-study of gun violence specifically on school grounds. Once a very clear picture has been drawn of what gun violence in schools looks like, then lawmakers and citizens will have an understanding of how gun violence impacts schools and those issues can be addressed.
Sadly, Congress has repeatedly refused to discuss gun reform, much less conduct a study. However, we do know some things about active shooters.
Overwhelmingly the shooters are young, white males.
The shooters feel aggrieved.
The primary gun used is an AR-15. Often that gun comes from the shooter’s home or the homes of friends or family of the shooter.
Shooters nearly always exhibit warning signs.
When it comes specifically to school shootings, often the shooter has a connection to that school.
Based on this basic information, addressing the warning signs early on and blocking easy access to firearms would have a direct impact on mass shootings.
We need to look for ways to stop a mass shooting before it happens. Addressing the warning signs and getting that person into a mental health program early and blocking access to guns is a great starting point, but there is more that needs to be done.
Are schools safer since Sandy Hook?
Since the Sandy Hook shooting there have been 189 shootings at schools, 278 casualties, 17 were “active shooter situations”. (189 shootings included active shootings, suicides and domestic violence. All shootings occurred on a school campus).
In the wake of the Sandy Hook shooting, Everytown, a research organization began tracking all cases of gunfire on school grounds and started building a national database to include all scenarios of when a live round was discharged from a gun inside or on a school campus. What they have discovered is a great starting point for our lawmakers to draft legislation on gun reform. Here is a link to their information. Everytown Research
We can not effectively address school shootings until we understand what drives these shootings.
Our country needs to have a very open and honest debate about the epidemic of gun violence plaguing this country. Our lawmakers need to be passing gun reform legislation and funding mental health programs instead of ignoring the problem.
Most of the first grade classmates who survived Sandy Hook will be voting age by 2024. I believe it is their generation who will enact change.
Our children deserve better.
Our educators deserve better.
Our country deserves better. Remember that the next time you vote.
