Gun Control Proposals
April 1, 2017
Senator Kamala Harris
312 N. Spring St.
Suite 1748 Los Angeles, CA 90012
United States House of Representatives
Dear Senator Harris:
I am writing to you in regards to the increasingly problematic issues surrounding gun control and active shooting in Southern California. As a college student at Cal State Fullerton University, there have been several controversial proposals about whether guns should be allowed in various college/high school campuses in California. These controversial proposals include the following: faculty members and students in California school campuses are required to conceal firearms at all time in case a school shooter is present. I believe that through our Second Amendment Right, we are allowed the …show more content…
right to bear arms, which allows us to protect ourselves from people that may harm us. However, the proposal of having professors and students carry guns should not be the proper way to protect us from school shooters. This proposal may be detrimental to the students and to the faculty members because unwanted shootings can affect an individual’s ability to function physically and mentally.
One reason why firearms at school campuses would be detrimental is because over the past few years, we have had several accidental shootings due to the lack of proper training. One has to realize that not every college/high school student and professor is a skilled shooter. There are numerous examples of why the lack of training can lead to injuries and death. According to The Trace, an organization that devotes to gun related issues,“accidents have occurred over the past several years at schools with campus carry — and they are accidents that almost certainly would not have occurred had concealed carry not been permitted on school grounds” For example, The Trace has reported, “on January 4th, 2012, a college professor, accidently shot himself on the foot in the middle of class. Idaho had allowed guns on campuses, just two months before.” Another example reported on “November 9th, 2012, when an employee at the University of Denver dental school was showing her handgun to some colleagues when she accidentally fired it while trying to unjam it.” These examples reveal that lack of gun training can lead to several accidents.
In addition, firearms can be dangerous when used by people who are emotionally unstable or mentally ill. According to Jon Schuppe’s NBC article “More Guns on Campuses Won’t Make People Safer, Researchers Say” and a study from Bloomberg School of public health, “Increasing gun availability in campus environments could make far more common acts of aggression, recklessness or self-harm more deadly and, thus, have a deleterious impact on the safety of students, faculty and staff.” Depending on a person’s mental history, some individuals that suffer mental illness can exhibit relapses which can lead to mental breakdowns. We cannot risk these types of individuals having guns, because sudden mental relapses may trigger aggression that can impact the safety of an individual.
PTSD is an occurring issue within gun related issues.
If we have guns trigger accidentally due to lack of training from novice individuals, it can produce unwanted scenarios where students and teachers can’t function mentally. It should be advised that we look at guns from different perspectives of other individuals, for a shooting can affect a student’s or teacher’s ability to work. According to Dr. Mark Tulls’ article, “How to Cope With PTSD Symptoms Following a Shooting”, “gun violence, such as a shooting, can be particularly difficult to cope with for a number of reasons. First, shootings are unpredictable and uncontrollable. When something uncontrollable happens, it can lead to people to avoid situations or places that remind you of the shooting.” I can correlate this example to Post Traumatic Stress disorder, because if an individual is affected by a shooting incident this may lead for one to be hesitant in coming back to the same place (for example, classrooms or crowded places). Thus, shooting in general can affect a person’s ability to function daily, if post-traumatic stress syndrome …show more content…
occurs.
How can we prevent school shootings without hindering the students’ and teachers’ ability to work? I propose the following: college campuses should reinforce our security and police forces, incorporate proper training when a school shooter is present, and implement stricter policies for guns.
I believe that in order to prevent school shootings we should increase the number of police officers on several campuses. To clarify, police officers and security guards are professionals that have the proper training to handle firearms and detect suspicious activity. They are trained to handle criminal activities that may include shootings than ordinary teachers and students. It brings to my attention that the reason why school shootings are happening is not because we don’t have enough guns, it’s because several campuses lack the number of police officers patrolling. According to the California Department of Justice, “In California, 63 percent of high schools employ at least one part-time law enforcement officer.” Also, according to “Every Town For Gun Report”, studies have reported that “Between 2013-15 every town identified 160 school shootings across 38 states. Nearly 53 percent of the identified shootings took place at K-12 school.” These reports show that school shootings have occurred more in high school campuses than college campuses. Furthermore, employing a few number of law enforcement officers at high school campuses is not enough to prevent a school shooting. This could lead the vulnerability against an officer, if that officer is incapacitated. So, would it be better to have a group of police officers assigned to patrol a school daily? Think about it, having more officers provides an open view to detect suspicious activity, rather than having one officer detect the activity. I think that having a group of officers would provide the proper communication to help civilians in need. Communication is important, especially when it concerns a group of people in a hectic situation. Communication allows a sense of urgency when something occurs, and it allows us to work cohesively to help others in need. If we provide students the proper training at school, then we can properly communicate with another to prevent the chances of deadly attacks.
To clarify how proper communication is essential when handling active shooting, earlier I stated that proper training should be incorporated in schools when a shooter is present. There is a correlation between training and communication. For example, some schools don’t emphasize to students what to do during a school shooting. Which is vital when students and teachers encounter a shooting school. From personal experience, I was once a high school student a year ago and I attended Pasadena High School. It was never emphasized how to react when a school shooter shows up. However, communication between students, teachers, and law enforcement is really important. It gives others self-awareness a school shooter arises. Thus, I believe it is important that school districts spend time training faculty members and students what to do during a shooting rather than handing them
guns.
Finally, there should be a stricter gun implementation in California. One of the reasons why school shootings occur because of the lack of stricter gun policies. LAWS argues that “gun dealers should be required to provide for reports and records of all their inventory twice a year to local law enforcement departments, in hopes of being able to keep a better track of what kind of individual is purchasing firearms and ammunition.” It is important that the government keeps track who carries any type of firearms, because states especially, like California, contain different kinds of individuals such as ex-convicts . With diversity comes with multiple kinds of people. We don’t know who is capable of harming others with guns, and depending on past records, mental illness, or any kind of miscellaneous record, these kinds of factors can be suspiciously detrimental to other communities like schools. Thus, believe that it is important the government keep track with gun dealers to report who they sell guns to. Having proper documentation keeps us aware of what a type of individual is capable of causing harm.
Senator Harris, I hope you can take into consideration about my proposal to not have guns around students or teachers. Several factors that I stated above are reasons why it can serve as detrimental to others. For example, if students and teachers have a lack of proper gun training they can inflict harm on other people. Also with the effects of PTSD, it can prevent a student’s and/or teacher’s ability to mentally function at school. Thus, I suggest different approaches, to prevent future a school shooting. The following proposals are as followed: college/high school campuses should increase the amount of security/police forces patrolling, incorporate proper training for responding to school shooters, and implement stricter policies for guns. If we try to improve these three proposals it can improve the educational atmosphere of students and teachers.
Sincerely yours,
Anonymous
Senator Kamala Harris
312 N. Spring St.
Suite 1748 Los Angeles, CA 90012
United States House of Representatives
Dear Senator Harris:
I am writing to you in regards to the increasingly problematic issues surrounding gun control and active shooting in Southern California. As a college student at Cal State Fullerton University, there have been several controversial proposals about whether guns should be allowed in various college/high school campuses in California. These controversial proposals include the following: faculty members and students in California school campuses are required to conceal firearms at all time in case a school shooter is present. I believe that through our Second Amendment Right, we are allowed the …show more content…
right to bear arms, which allows us to protect ourselves from people that may harm us. However, the proposal of having professors and students carry guns should not be the proper way to protect us from school shooters. This proposal may be detrimental to the students and to the faculty members because unwanted shootings can affect an individual’s ability to function physically and mentally.
One reason why firearms at school campuses would be detrimental is because over the past few years, we have had several accidental shootings due to the lack of proper training. One has to realize that not every college/high school student and professor is a skilled shooter. There are numerous examples of why the lack of training can lead to injuries and death. According to The Trace, an organization that devotes to gun related issues,“accidents have occurred over the past several years at schools with campus carry — and they are accidents that almost certainly would not have occurred had concealed carry not been permitted on school grounds” For example, The Trace has reported, “on January 4th, 2012, a college professor, accidently shot himself on the foot in the middle of class. Idaho had allowed guns on campuses, just two months before.” Another example reported on “November 9th, 2012, when an employee at the University of Denver dental school was showing her handgun to some colleagues when she accidentally fired it while trying to unjam it.” These examples reveal that lack of gun training can lead to several accidents.
In addition, firearms can be dangerous when used by people who are emotionally unstable or mentally ill. According to Jon Schuppe’s NBC article “More Guns on Campuses Won’t Make People Safer, Researchers Say” and a study from Bloomberg School of public health, “Increasing gun availability in campus environments could make far more common acts of aggression, recklessness or self-harm more deadly and, thus, have a deleterious impact on the safety of students, faculty and staff.” Depending on a person’s mental history, some individuals that suffer mental illness can exhibit relapses which can lead to mental breakdowns. We cannot risk these types of individuals having guns, because sudden mental relapses may trigger aggression that can impact the safety of an individual.
PTSD is an occurring issue within gun related issues.
If we have guns trigger accidentally due to lack of training from novice individuals, it can produce unwanted scenarios where students and teachers can’t function mentally. It should be advised that we look at guns from different perspectives of other individuals, for a shooting can affect a student’s or teacher’s ability to work. According to Dr. Mark Tulls’ article, “How to Cope With PTSD Symptoms Following a Shooting”, “gun violence, such as a shooting, can be particularly difficult to cope with for a number of reasons. First, shootings are unpredictable and uncontrollable. When something uncontrollable happens, it can lead to people to avoid situations or places that remind you of the shooting.” I can correlate this example to Post Traumatic Stress disorder, because if an individual is affected by a shooting incident this may lead for one to be hesitant in coming back to the same place (for example, classrooms or crowded places). Thus, shooting in general can affect a person’s ability to function daily, if post-traumatic stress syndrome …show more content…
occurs.
How can we prevent school shootings without hindering the students’ and teachers’ ability to work? I propose the following: college campuses should reinforce our security and police forces, incorporate proper training when a school shooter is present, and implement stricter policies for guns.
I believe that in order to prevent school shootings we should increase the number of police officers on several campuses. To clarify, police officers and security guards are professionals that have the proper training to handle firearms and detect suspicious activity. They are trained to handle criminal activities that may include shootings than ordinary teachers and students. It brings to my attention that the reason why school shootings are happening is not because we don’t have enough guns, it’s because several campuses lack the number of police officers patrolling. According to the California Department of Justice, “In California, 63 percent of high schools employ at least one part-time law enforcement officer.” Also, according to “Every Town For Gun Report”, studies have reported that “Between 2013-15 every town identified 160 school shootings across 38 states. Nearly 53 percent of the identified shootings took place at K-12 school.” These reports show that school shootings have occurred more in high school campuses than college campuses. Furthermore, employing a few number of law enforcement officers at high school campuses is not enough to prevent a school shooting. This could lead the vulnerability against an officer, if that officer is incapacitated. So, would it be better to have a group of police officers assigned to patrol a school daily? Think about it, having more officers provides an open view to detect suspicious activity, rather than having one officer detect the activity. I think that having a group of officers would provide the proper communication to help civilians in need. Communication is important, especially when it concerns a group of people in a hectic situation. Communication allows a sense of urgency when something occurs, and it allows us to work cohesively to help others in need. If we provide students the proper training at school, then we can properly communicate with another to prevent the chances of deadly attacks.
To clarify how proper communication is essential when handling active shooting, earlier I stated that proper training should be incorporated in schools when a shooter is present. There is a correlation between training and communication. For example, some schools don’t emphasize to students what to do during a school shooting. Which is vital when students and teachers encounter a shooting school. From personal experience, I was once a high school student a year ago and I attended Pasadena High School. It was never emphasized how to react when a school shooter shows up. However, communication between students, teachers, and law enforcement is really important. It gives others self-awareness a school shooter arises. Thus, I believe it is important that school districts spend time training faculty members and students what to do during a shooting rather than handing them
guns.
Finally, there should be a stricter gun implementation in California. One of the reasons why school shootings occur because of the lack of stricter gun policies. LAWS argues that “gun dealers should be required to provide for reports and records of all their inventory twice a year to local law enforcement departments, in hopes of being able to keep a better track of what kind of individual is purchasing firearms and ammunition.” It is important that the government keeps track who carries any type of firearms, because states especially, like California, contain different kinds of individuals such as ex-convicts . With diversity comes with multiple kinds of people. We don’t know who is capable of harming others with guns, and depending on past records, mental illness, or any kind of miscellaneous record, these kinds of factors can be suspiciously detrimental to other communities like schools. Thus, believe that it is important the government keep track with gun dealers to report who they sell guns to. Having proper documentation keeps us aware of what a type of individual is capable of causing harm.
Senator Harris, I hope you can take into consideration about my proposal to not have guns around students or teachers. Several factors that I stated above are reasons why it can serve as detrimental to others. For example, if students and teachers have a lack of proper gun training they can inflict harm on other people. Also with the effects of PTSD, it can prevent a student’s and/or teacher’s ability to mentally function at school. Thus, I suggest different approaches, to prevent future a school shooting. The following proposals are as followed: college/high school campuses should increase the amount of security/police forces patrolling, incorporate proper training for responding to school shooters, and implement stricter policies for guns. If we try to improve these three proposals it can improve the educational atmosphere of students and teachers.
Sincerely yours,
Anonymous