By Dany Milian
d_m203@txstate.edu
SAN MARCOS, Texas -- Following the deadly school shooting in Parkland, Fla., President Trump backed a proposal to arm teachers and staff in grades K-12.
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| Joseph Losoya Photo by: Cole Sanchez |
The deadly mass shooting and the president's comments have re-sparked gun control debate throughout the nation.
According to a Pew Research Center survey, 55% of American adults oppose arming teachers and staff while 45% are in favor.
Texas State alumni Joseph Losoya thinks that arming teachers is generally a bad idea.
"Just because you can shoot a gun doesn't mean you can handle that situation," said Losoya. "It's going to be chaos. A lot of kids running around. It's very unorganized."
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| Joe Pieczynski Photo by: Cole Sanchez |
However, Joe Pieczynski, a student at Texas State University, thinks the plan could work.
"I think that if it's needed as a safety measure and the teachers are properly trained, then I'm not against it," said Pieczynski.
Shannon Fitzpatrick, an attorney for Texas State University students, who strongly opposes arming teachers with weapons, feels that the better solution would be to focus on counseling.
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| Shannon Fitzpatrick Photo by: Christopher Green |
"Well, for one thing, we've been cutting school budgets tremendously over the years, and we cut out school counselors," said Fitzpatrick. "If you lower the class size, teachers can pay more attention to that, and so you have professional counselors inside that can deal with issues."
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| Jeremy Moreno Photo by: Dany Milian |
In the same way, Jeremy Moreno, a student at Texas State, feels that arming teachers is not the solution.
"I think this mass shooter things is more a mental health thing than it is a gun thing," said Moreno.
The safety and danger of having teachers armed inside classrooms are not the only topics being debated - the cost of doing so is too.
An analysis by The Washington Post found that arming teachers with guns and the right training could cost anywhere from $43 million to $1 billion.
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| Danielle Kelly Photo by: Dymond Sam |
Danielle Kelly, a theater production major at Texas State, is not bothered by the possible high cost.
"I don't know where taxes go right now, but I would be willing to pay taxes to have safe schools," said Kelly.
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| Jayla Dunbar Photo by: Dymond Sam |
Alternatively, Jayla Dunbar, a Texas State student, feels that the funding should come from the teachers themselves.
"I feel like if you wanna carry a gun, you should pay for it. Because I don't feel like me as a taxpayer [should] have to pay for it because it's not something I believe in," said Dunbar.
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