"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."
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
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.
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.
Mourners gather at Apalachee High School in Barrow County, Ga., where two teachers and two students were gunned down on Sept. 4, 2024, investigators say, by a 14-year-old student. Trevor Hughes/USA TODAY
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).”
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.
Opinion alerts: Get columns from your favorite columnists + expert analysis on top issues, delivered straight to your device through the USA TODAY app. Don't have the app? Download it for free from your app store .
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.
There is an answer but no one wants to hear it. Instead the republicans and democrats just let it keep happening. It won’t stop until they have control. They let it happen on purpose to divide us. They could have secured these schools easily years ago. They will never do it.
Captain Kirk
10m ago
Question which schools that had a shooting also had a police guard on duty and which ones without police guard ?
Get updates delivered to you daily. Free and customizable.
It’s essential to note our commitment to transparency:
Our Terms of Use acknowledge that our services may not always be error-free, and our Community Standards emphasize our discretion in enforcing policies. As a platform hosting over 100,000 pieces of content published daily, we cannot pre-vet content, but we strive to foster a dynamic environment for free expression and robust discourse through safety guardrails of human and AI moderation.