Parker Davis

Criminal Justice 1010

Term Paper

Should we allow concealed carry on school campus?

School shootings are far too common in our society. In a study that was started in 2013

and ended in 2015, it was found that there were 160 school shootings throughout our country.

These incidents did not include those where guns were brought into schools but not fired, or

were fired off school grounds after being possessed in the schools. 160 incidents over the course

of 3 years! Out of all these incidents there were 59 deaths and 124 non-fatal gunshot injuries.

Now lets look at the statistics of these incidents for a minute so we can better understand the risk

at hand. Nearly 53% of the identified shootings took place in K-12 schools, and 47% took place

on college or university campuses. In 95 incidents - over half - the perpetrator(s) intentionally

injured or killed at least one other person with a gun. Taken from: Analysis of School

Shootings. (2015, December 31). Retrieved March 11, 2017, from

https://everytownresearch.org/reports/analysis-of-school-shootings/ . These numbers are telling

us something isnt right here. We have far too many shootings and the majority (53%) are taking

place in K-12 schools where students are far less capable of defending themselves or escaping

danger.

Throughout this paper, I want to focus on just 3 incidents that have occurred in schools.

The three shootings we will be looking at are responsible for 65 deaths that may have been

prevented if we were prepared. The first school shooting I will cover is the Sandy Hook
Elementary School, where 28 lives were lost. This is one of the examples of a shooting where the

assailant picked a highly populated, scarcely defended target and caused a lot of damage. In the

case of this school, they did have a new security system in place, but the assailant shot his way

through the locked front doors of the school. The Principal and the school psychologist step out

to see what is going on, and are immediately killed by the gunner, a secretary is injured. This is

the part where I think we could make a difference, the shooter continues down the hall and enters

the classroom of a substitute teacher. He guns down 14 children, the teacher, and the teachers

aide. I am not saying that we could eliminate this tragedy, but I do think we could have done

something more to protect those 14 kids in that room.

The second school shooting is one we are all familiar with, that is Columbine High

School. Two students of the school who had been bullied planned their final attempt to get

revenge for their mistreatment. They arrived at the school and began shooting fellow students at

11:19. They then made their way into the school and to the library where they found most their

victims. The shooting lasted 41 minutes and not a single person was able to stop these shooters

before they turned their guns on themselves to end the massacre. Yet again we see another

situation where the defenses at our K-12 schools are not sufficient, we are unable to protect these

kids when a problem arises.

The third and final shooting I want to discuss is the deadliest shooting in US history.

Virginia Tech University, April 16th, 2007.

7:15 am - Police are notified in a 911 call that there are at least two shooting victims at West

Ambler Johnston Hall, a four-story coed dormitory on campus that houses approximately 895

students.

9:01 am - Cho mails a package containing video, photographs and writings to NBC News in

New York City. NBC doesnt receive it until two days later due to an incorrect address on the

package.

9:26 am - The school sends out an email statement that a shooting took place at West Ambler

Johnston Hall earlier that morning.

9:45 am - 911 calls report a second round of shootings in classrooms at Norris Hall, the

engineering science and mechanics building. At least 32 students and faculty are killed.

9:50 Please stay put. A second email notifies students that a gunman is loose on campus.

9:55 am- University officials send a third message about the second shooting via email and text

messages to students.

10:16 am - Classes are canceled.

10:52 am - Students receive an email about Norris Hall shooting, with the subject line, Second

shooting reported: police have one gunman in custody.

This whole timeline shows just exactly how quickly a situation like this can develop. The shooter

had planned this out and knew exactly where he was going and what he wanted to do. The fact

that the shooter traveled through campus without a single person to stop him. The students were

made aware and put on alert, but none of them were prepared to handle a situation like this. This

third and final shooting is what makes me brings up the final point of my argument. We need

another way to defend our schools and make them a safer place.
 What I propose that we train our teachers in K-12 schools, and that we allow students,

with a permit, to conceal carry on campus. My idea is not unlike that of Professor George L.

Kirkham where he joins the police force to better understand what they go through day to day. I

dont believe we need to take a step that drastic, but I do think we should help our teachers take

on another role. They are responsible for our youth and if we could get them some training it

would allow us to have another line of defense against school shootings. I dont know if our

teachers would see the same kind of action that Kirkham did, but I can see them at least serving

as another deterrent for school shootings. The Choice Theory states that wrongdoers act as if

they weigh the possible benefits of criminal activity against the costs of being apprehended. In

the case of school shootings, they frequently end in suicide before the assailant is apprehended.

This means that a Choice Theory point of view is a little trickier to apply. But if we could add

one more road block, or one more person standing in the way of an assailant and his goal, this

may tip the scale in our favor. If a potential shooter follows the choice theory, they will have to

think about what will happen if they meet one of the armed teachers, this adds that extra variable

to their planning.

I like to think that these shootings would open the discussion for ways we can protect our

students and new innovative and at times, abrasive, forms of security. I think one of the best

things we could do, rather than forming a new policy, is to just authorize the use of a right we

already have under the constitution. We have the right to bear arms, so why is it that so many

students have died while under the protection of our educational system? In chapter 14 of

Exploring the Police a Book of Readings by John Hill, we see how the Kansas City police

department lowers crime rates through patrols. What difference do you think it would make in
our schools if there was someone patrolling the halls every single day? We already have staff

in place, and all they would need is a little training to help them further protect our students. Our

teachers and faculty at public K-12 schools can be a crucial line of defense before an incident

even occurs. Criminals are deterred from an area just by the sight of a law enforcement officer,

so my question is, would a teacher with a permitted concealed carry have the same effect on kids

who seek to harm others? In most cases the objective of a gunner in a school is to take their

revenge for the way they have been treated, but that is their only goal. Imagine if we put a barrier

between them and their goal, would that not motivate them to think twice at least? These

shooters go into a school knowing that they wont come out, which is why revenge is all they

have left, if we can just manage to put that revenge beyond their reach it could save a lot of lives.

This topic is a hard one, especially since our public schools already have such a

tight budget. We cant afford to pay for a private security detail for every school. I think that by

arming the right people who are already in place, we can not only protect our students, but we

can save that money that would otherwise be spent on a uniformed guard. Our teachers care so

much for their students and they see them daily, they know better than most do, about what their

needs are. Teachers are the first line of defense because they could possibly identify a threat

before it even emerges. This would be a great opportunity to help these kids before they reach

that point of desperation and go on a shooting spree. With the training required to carry a

permitted weapon, we could include a course on the warning signs and how to find help for those

in need before its too late. I hope that the 3 school shootings I have outlined provide enough

examples of when and where our teachers are needed most. That they can help us stand a

fighting chance when it comes to defending our students from possible threats. I hope that
Universities can see that by allowing students their right to bear arms, they are instantly vamping

up their security and helping students to have a safer learning environment.

Resources

Hill, J. (2004). Exploring the police: a book of readings. Boston: Pearson Custom Pub.

Analysis of School Shootings. (2015, December 31). Retrieved March 11, 2017, from

https://everytownresearch.org/reports/analysis-of-school-shootings/

Gaines, L. K., & Miller, R. L. (2017). Criminal justice in action. Australia: Cengage Learning.

History.com Staff. (2009). Columbine High School shootings. Retrieved March

12,2017, from http:..www.history.com/topics/columbine-high-school-shootings

(n.d). Retrieved March 12, 2017, from

http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/07/us/connecticut-shootings-fast-facts/

Virginia Tech Shooting. (n.d.). Retrieved March 12, 2017, from

http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/31/us/virginia-tech-shootings-fast-facts/