Harris was right about 'demilitarizing' schools. More police with guns isn't the answer.

Kamala Harris, when she was a U.S. senator running for president in 2019, called for police officers to be removed from public schools to demilitarize campuses.

"What we need to do about … demilitarizing our schools and taking police officers out of schools," Harris said . "We need to deal with the reality and speak the truth about the inequities around school discipline. Where in particular, Black and brown boys are being expelled and or suspended as young as, I've seen, as young as in elementary school."

Even after the latest mass shooting at a school, where a resource officer helped to stop the violence by taking the suspected killer into custody, I still agree with Harris.

The shooting on Sept. 4 at Apalachee High School in Georgia , killing two students and two teachers, has reignited conversations about whether armed police officers and even military veterans should guard schools to protect students against violence.

But adding more people with more guns is not the answer to school violence. Tougher gun regulation is the answer.

DeSantis proposed sending armed veterans into schools

In 2018, Ron DeSantis, while running for governor in Florida, proposed hiring retired military veterans and police officers to provide security at schools. His comments came in response to the shooting that left 17 students and staff dead at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.

DeSantis' idea on the surface may seem like it's a valid solution. Yet veterans, as patriotic and dedicated as many are, also often are dealing with their own trauma, which could interfere with our children's best interests.

Low pay and high expectations: My life as a teacher left me frustrated. And thankful.

The romanticization of war and our nation's military creates an unrealistic ideal of what military life, the pace of training and deployment and war are truly like.

The idea of deploying more armed police and veterans to protect our children's safety in school may sound reassuring. Yet, it isn’t safe or realistic.

One argument I’ve heard for supporting armed veterans in schools is that they are highly trained with firearms and can provide better school security. But that is not always the case.

All members of the military receive marksmanship training, but not all are highly skilled shooters. Sharpshooters and expert shots have superior skills with weapons. But soldiers are required to meet weapons qualifications only annually or biannually. To become an expert marksman, a soldier in the Army must hit 36 out of 40 targets during the Army's weapons training course . However, to meet the standard for qualification, only a few more than half of the 40 targets must be hit.

Those odds don't sound good in a schoolyard.

“Veteran status does not equate to being qualified for such a huge responsibility," therapist and retired Army noncommissioned officer LaQuista Erinna said. "We are talking about the safety of our children, and when you start adding armed individuals, regardless of veteran status, you create an environment of chaos and confusion. We continue to try to treat the symptoms (of school shootings) and not the cause (lack of gun control in this country).”

Do more to keep kids safe: Vance says school shootings are 'a fact of life.' That's cowardice, not leadership.

Gun violence is a public health crisis

Gun violence is a public health crisis that needs to be addressed through legislation that reduces the number of guns that are sold or given to people unlawfully. In the Apalachee school shooting, the gun used was legally purchased and reportedly given to a child as a gift.

In what world is that OK? I don’t care how responsible I think my child is, I would never give them a gun.

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And in fact, Colin Gray, 54, the father of the 14-year-old arrested in the Georgia school shooting, has been charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder and eight counts of cruelty to children for allowing his son access to a deadly weapon.

We need fewer guns in our homes and in our schools, but Americans also need better access to health care so that doctors can diagnose mental health challenges early and children can get proper treatment rather than resorting to self-harm, violence or suicide.

What everyone should understand is that children are traumatized when they see violence against others , especially violence involving guns and other weapons. We have to prevent their exposure to trauma because it can harm their lives through adulthood.

It's these things − gun reforms, better mental health care, better parenting − not more armed security, that will keep our children safe.

Marla Bautista is a military fellow columnist at USA TODAY Opinion .

You can read diverse opinions from our USA TODAY columnists and other writers on the Opinion front page , on X, formerly Twitter, @usatodayopinion and in our Opinion newsletter .

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Harris was right about 'demilitarizing' schools. More police with guns isn't the answer.