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School Shootings, Gun Control, and the Media

Can we stop school shootings?

By Elizabeth HortonPublished 6 years ago 8 min read
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From CNBC 

I am sure by now we are all aware of the latest school shootings in Parkland and Santa Fe. These shootings are devastating tragedies that our entire nation mourns. Our country goes into a frenzy each time these horrific events happen. Immediately, there are news reports flooding social media and passionate debates on gun control laws among the people. One thing we can agree on, no matter what side of the debate you fall on, is that something must be done. What we cannot agree on, though, is what must be done.

School Shootings & The Media

When these shootings happen, there is so much media reporting it is hard to keep up with it all, and most people are so shaken we tend not to fact check what we are reading and just believe the articles that are trending. As a result, a lot of misinformation is being spread around and it results in people making arguments based on false premises. This is especially important if these arguments are what we are going to be basing national policies on.

One piece of information that has been making its rounds around the media and is widely accepted among mainstream media and its readers is that there have been 22 school shootings this year.

If we have had 22 school shootings this year, adding up to about one a week, we have to ask ourselves exactly why haven't we heard about these 22 school shootings? Why hasn't the media covered these horrible events? It's because we haven't had 22 school shootings this year. This widely reported number is a lie.

To know this, you simply have to read their article. As soon as you see how they are defining school shootings, it is very clear that this is extremely misleading information. It is so misleading, it is astonishing that a major news network allowed it to be published. CNN defines a school shooting as the following:

"A shooting that involved at least one person being shot (not including the shooter)

A shooting that occurred on school grounds

We included grades K through college/university level

We included gang violence, fights, and domestic violence

We included accidental discharge of a firearm as long as the first two parameters are met"

Once we see that they are including any time a gun goes off on school property, even by accident, as a school shooting, it is painfully obvious that this information is so misleading that we would not be out of line to say that CNN is lying to us.

Though there does not appear to be an official consensus on the exact definition of what a school shooting is, it is generally agreed that a school shooting is an intentional shooting where the school is specifically targeted and is not just "a random of sit of opportunity" as The Secret Service and Department of Education say. This immediately disqualifies any guns accidentally going off, domestic disputes, gangs and fights, which, coincidentally, are the shootings that make up the majority of CNN's list. So, this information is verifiably false, yet it is the widely accepted narrative because that is what the people are reading.

Really, to my knowledge, there have only been three school shootings this year, which is three too many, but it is a far cry from 22. Even if I missed one or two, the number is drastically less than the narrative being put forth today.

You have probably heard of Emma Gonzalez, Cameron Kasky, David Hogg; three students who survived the Parkland shooting. Since the shooting, they have become gun control activists, appearing on every news outlet imaginable and speaking at rallies. They have started a full fledged war against the NRA and even made the cover of Time magazine.

These are the students we keep seeing in the media, the ones being promoted as representatives of the Parkland school. But have you ever heard of Kyle Kashuv? He is also a survivor of the Parkland shooting and strongly disagrees with his classmates. He has been interviewed on the news, though not nearly as much, and has even met with President Trump to talk about what can be done while gun control activist, David Hogg, who is demanding that the government do something actually hung up on the White House and refused to talk to them. So maybe the promoted five don't speak for all the students. There are students from that school who disagree with the promoted five, but those are the five the media promotes because those are the five who the media agrees with.

Gun Control

Naturally, our country is divided about what we can do to help prevent more school shootings. The biggest narrative we see is gun control. It is what the media is calling for and a good percentage of the people as well. It sparked the March for Our Lives movement. After all, it's just common sense, right? Logically, less guns equal less gun crime, right? It's that simple.

Not exactly. Most gun control advocates will urge people to look at other countries like Australia or Britain for evidence that gun control is the only solution to mass shootings. But when you do look at them, it can be seen that the issue is not that black and white.

To make a long story short, in Australia, the rate of gun crime was already in decline before the gun ban was implemented. Today, their rate of gun ownership is at an all time high but their gun violence has not increased with gun ownership.

In Britain, after the gun ban, their gun violence rates went up 89 percent over a decade.

When we look at these countries, we can see that their gun violence does not correlate with their gun laws. It is easy to just know in an off-handed sort of way that these countries have less mass shootings and stricter gun laws and to just assume that correlation equals causation so the gun laws must be the reason for their percentage of mass shootings, but this is simply not true.

Another popular argument is "no one needs an assault weapon or an AR-15." If you ask the various gun control advocates who don't want people to be allowed to own assault weapons to define what an assault weapon is, you will get a different answer every time. This is because, for the sake of argument, there is no such thing as an assault weapon. There is no legal or official definition, and demanding something be banned when what that thing even is is widely open to interpretation is dangerous.

As for the AR-15, when there is no evidence that gun control actually makes a difference, there is no evidence that taking away AR-15s will make a difference. Banning something on a hunch when there is no research that supports it is giving the government way too much power. Just because some don't feel like anyone needs an AR-15, it is not in any way a valid argument for making that thing illegal to own. If you are okay with people owning handguns, you should be okay with people owning AR-15s because there is no research that shows that banning AR-15s will make school shootings any less frequent.

Another popular tactic for gun control advocates is to blame the NRA. Some have even gone so far as to call it a terrorist organization. They claim that our politicians won't pass gun control laws because they have been bought out by the NRA, but once again, this is simply not true. Yes, the NRA has donated to some politicians, but very little. Especially in comparison with other organizations, such as Planned Parenthood, which makes very large donations to politicians. If the NRA was buying out the politicians, they would have to donate a lot more money than they actually do.

It is also ridiculous to blame them for school shootings or call them terrorists. No NRA member has ever killed anyone. They just support the right of the people to bear arms. They have nothing to do with mass shootings.

What can we do?

So if gun control isn't the answer, what is? Unfortunately, there is no way to completely stop school shootings. However, there are some things we can do to try and make them less successful.

97 percent of mass shootings take place in gun free zones. This is a staggering statistic. Gun free zones make it much easier for someone who wants to commit a mass shooting to do so successfully and kill several people before the police arrive and are able to stop the shooting with their own guns. The majority of our schools are gun free zones. This means if someone wants to shoot up a school, they can do so without fear of being shot at. Honestly, it would help a great deal if we abolished gun free zones. Studies show that even the possibility of someone else having a gun deters crime.

Another solution is armed teachers and security. No, this doesn't mean I want a government regulated "arm all teachers" solution. Teachers who already own guns and who are willing/want to bring their guns to the school for protection should be allowed to do so. We know that school shootings are a threat to our students, and the best possible defense against a gun is another gun. If our students and teachers are victimized by a school shooter, currently their only option is to run and hide and hope for the best. They are defenseless until the police arrive. Unfortunately, by the time law enforcement arrives, it can be anywhere from 10-30 minutes, and most school shootings have been completed in that amount of time. There are plenty of statistics available that show mass shootings being prevented by armed citizens with guns.

Other things that could be done is installing bullet proof class, better mental health care, and tackling bullying. I firmly believe all of these things will do more to help school shootings than gun control ever could and it can do it without infringing on anyone's rights.

The reality is that even people who demand control call people with guns when they feel threatened. Our anti-gun politicians don't walk outside without surrounding themselves with armed security. My question is why aren't we giving our students the same protection we're giving our politicians?

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About the Creator

Elizabeth Horton

I am 26 years old and a recent college graduate with a degree in criminal justice. I love to write and my main interest is politics and social issues although I will delve into other areas every now and then.

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