Protecting our school children should be a priority now

The events in the world today are very unsettling.  The events in our own countries are unsettling. 

Since 2009 there has been about 288 school shootings in the USA.  Mexico with 8 and other countries are even less.  This year alone, so far 27 in the USA for 2022 .  Although they are not all massacres, either way, this is unacceptable.  The bare minimum has been done to secure our children’s safety when they get on that bus and go to school for the day. How is this not a priority?   Why is this not a priority? Security in schools, mental health care, gun law revision, exclusive background checks,  ALL of these are a priority.  Each year just goes by after another school shooting or school massacre, yet still nothing is being done to protect our children or secure the school buildings.  Don’t our children and teachers matter?   How many more massacres will it take, a whole school massacre instead of a whole classroom or just a few human human lives.  One child’s life taken away senselessly is too many.    

 We have stricter security getting on a plane, going into a courthouse, going into a concert or a stadium, why not for our children?  This is maddening and mind boggling. 

Let’s start with gun law revisions, why does any regular citizen need an assault weapon?  I am 100 percent all for citizens having a license to carry a gun for hunting or to protect themselves and their families. But why would any citizen need an assault weapon?

Deeper background checks including social media accounts, family stability etc.  I’m sure some would disagree and say this is invasion of privacy, but this is about owning a weapon that can kill.

Mental health records reviewed and mandatory mental health exams to determine mental state of being before selling a gun to an unstable individual? 

Metal detectors upon entering the school building, maybe it could signal some alarm and the classrooms automatically go into lock down.  All of these actions could help and It should not vary from state to state, it should be mandatory in every state. 

Some are suggesting our teachers carrying weapons.  It is understandable the reason why this is suggested, but in my opinion, may not be the best solution.  Teachers are hired for a job to educate our children, they should also be protected without having to carry a weapon and if in the wrong hands, it may not be the best situation. Frequent drills with better practices in place if a shooting situation occurs.

Protection inside the classrooms is necessary as well as the school buildings.  Parents should never be afraid to send their child to school, teachers should never be afraid to go work, children should never be afraid to go to school.  

Town officials, school officials, teachers, parents, communities,  it’s time now to stand up and speak out in our cities and towns, raise your voices and be the change we need for the security and safety of our children.  We cannot depend on the government nationally and if our own states don’t help to make this change, it’s up to our own cities, towns, communities, and citizens to come together to make schools safe for children.