On February 14, 2018, 17 people were killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland Florida. This marked the 18th school shooting in the United States this year. One school shooting is too many, let alone 18. Something must be done in order to ensure safety.
School safety
School is a place where students should feel safe and parents should have comfort in knowing that their child is going to be safe at school. Parents shouldn’t have to wonder if their kids are going to come home safely every day.
Students shouldn’t have to worry about if they’re going to make it home safely.
What won't be done to improve school safety
There are many ways in which we can improve student and faculty safety at schools. One way that most people bring up, taking guns away from people, isn’t going to happen. There have been so many shootings in the United States that if this was on Congress’ agenda, it would have been done already. According to the Independent, 276 lawmakers in the United States “take NRA money and block gun control.” Since guns aren’t going to be taken away from people, what can we do to improve the safety of students and faculty?
Make it tougher to purchase guns
A good start would be making the ability for one to obtain a gun much more difficult.
Background checks and tests in order obtain a gun should become much more strenuous. This would go a long way toward improving people’s safety and making sure that the people who have guns are mentally fit to do so. Along with this, monthly checkups should be done in order to make sure the people who own guns are mentally fit.
If we do this, it doesn't just make students and faculty safer, the United States would be a safer place for everyone.
Add metal detectors and more law enforcement at schools
Another route that should be explored is adding metal detectors at every school in the U.S. and increasing law enforcement presence at every school. Anyone who enters a school will have to walk through the metal detector and if it goes off, they’ll have to be screened by law enforcement before they can enter the school during school hours and other school events.
The increase in law enforcement presence and metal detectors at schools would go a long way toward making students feel safer at schools, and parents will be much more comfortable with sending their children to school.
Unfortunately, tragedies are still going to occur
There is no perfect way to keep everyone safe. Even if Congress does take dramatic action toward improving school safety, there’s likely still going to be a few incidents a year. At this point, though, any progress toward improving school safety is something we should all accept and be proud of.
Enough is enough
At some point, enough is enough. Action must be taken in order to improve school safety. It’s going to cost a lot of money in order to implement the best safety program possible for schools, but that can’t be an excuse.
People’s lives are a thousand times more important than the money it’ll cost to make schools as safe as possible. Funerals cost a lot of money too, but the victims' families have no choice, and, like those families, Congress has no choice but to take action immediately in order to improve school safety.
