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Thoughts on Texas Shooting from a Former Teacher
Friday’s tragedy in Santa Fe, Texas marks the seventh high school shooting in the United States in 2018, and the fall semester hasn’t even started. The uptick in school shootings provides only a snapshot of the broader cultural despair that drives many teens to violence and suicide.
While many Americans debate what can be done to stop the carnage, more should consider why it happens so frequently.
A friend asked me why the president cannot simply sign an executive order, requiring schools to install metal detectors and more strictly regulate students’ access. After all, his job description includes protecting Americans from enemies foreign and domestic.
Tragedies often cause people to forget niceties like federalism and the rule of law.
Without knowing all the details at the time, I told him that states could at least require public schools to have armed resource officers.
But Santa Fe High School did have two school resource officers on duty who engaged the shooter and prevented him from killing more.
Currently, 20 percent of U.S. public schools have resource officers, and multiple times this year they have prevented school shootings from becoming more fatal. Limiting students’ access to one entrance would no doubt make their jobs…
