By Carol Lucas
I suppose it was wishful thinking to hope I would never again write about gun violence in our schools. In my heart I knew better; sometimes, however, the Pollyanna in me surfaces and overtakes my sense of reality. That reality, however, knew it was just a matter of “if” rather than “when.”
One of my former columns centered upon the idea of arming teachers. I was so appalled that I hit the computer and took the stance of “flippant ridicule.”
Back then I posed the scenario where I was teaching Chaucer’s “Canterbury Tales,” and a gunman entered my classroom. I pull out my gun, blow him away, call the custodian to clean up the mess, and resume teaching “The Miller’s Tale.” Ludicrous? Of course! But then so is the notion of arming teachers.
This past week it was Winder, Ga., Apalachee High School. The victims were two teachers, two 14-year-old boys, all four killed, and at least nine others wounded. As expected, the usual pablum was forthcoming: “guns don’t kill people, people kill people.” But more on the responses later.
First I want to make the point that this time the perpetrator is 14 years of age. Let that register for a moment. If you look at pictures of this kid’s baby-face, you have to be dumb-struck. And when you read the story of how he grew up, you soon come to realize that he certainly qualifies as a victim as well.
Know that I am not excusing him with what I am about to write. There are four grieving families who don’t want to hear it, and I don’t want to give that impression. However, to say that Colt Gray grew up in a troubled and neglectful home is the quintessential understatement.
Police and child services visited the Gray home on a regular basis. A neighbor who lived next to them in Jefferson, Ga., spoke of times when the mother locked the children out of the house, and the kids would bang on the door, crying and screaming, “Mom, Mom.” The neighbor called it devastating.
As for Colt’s mother, she has a lengthy rap sheet with drug and domestic violence arrests, for which she spent time in jail. And we know that it was the father that bought the AR-15 rifle for his son as a Christmas gift. Shortly after the shooting, the father was arrested for this on charges of Second Degree Murder, Involuntary Manslaughter, and Cruelty to Children. This begs the question, “cruelty to those killed as well as your own son?”
Also, this young man was on the authorities’ radar. According to the New York Post, more than a year ago, tips about online posts threatening a school shooting led Georgia police to interview a 13-year-old boy, but investigators didn’t have enough evidence for an arrest.
His father, who was also interviewed, told cops he had hunting guns in the house but his son did not have access to them. The officers urged the father to keep the firearms under lock and key — and advised that Colt be kept out of school “until this matter could be resolved.” One must ask whether or not there was sufficient intervention on the part of authorities.
NPR began a report by asking, “How do we prevent the next one?” and continues with “For years, school safety experts, and even the U.S. Secret Service, have rallied around some very clear answers. Here’s what they say.
“There’s broad consensus that arming teachers is not a good policy. That’s according to Matthew Mayer, a professor at Rutgers Graduate School of Education. He’s been studying school violence since before Columbine, and he’s part of a group of researchers who have published several position papers about why school shootings happen.
“Mayer says arming teachers is a bad idea ‘because it invites numerous disasters and problems, and the chances of it actually helping are minuscule.’”
At the risk of slipping back into flippant mode, I must respond, “Really?”
In 2018, a Gallup Poll also found that most teachers do not want to carry guns in school, and overwhelmingly favor gun control measures over security steps meant to “harden” schools. When asked which specific measures would be “most effective” at preventing school shootings, 57% of teachers favored universal background checks, and the same number, 57%, also favored banning the sale of semiautomatic weapons such as the one used in the Parkland attack. (NPR)
Schools have had to create a prison-like atmosphere by locking doors, hiring guards to patrol the halls, and installing metal detectors. In other words, “harden the campus.” Ridiculous! Schools shouldn’t have to bear this burden, nor should kids have to go to classes under such conditions.
Yet this is the norm, simply because those responsible for this perversion refuse to alter their stance. Indeed, when informed of this latest mass shooting, J.D. Vance called it, “an unfortunate fact of life.” Sorry, J.D., it wasn’t a fact when I was teaching 25 years ago. Do you mind explaining why that has changed? And why this isn’t the case in other countries?
As for Donald Trump, he was quoted as saying about a previous mass shooting, “It’s just horrible, so surprising to see it here. But have to get over it — we have to move forward.”
Tell that to the parents of the deceased children.
So where does the answer lie? To start with, raise the age limit for gun ownership from 18 to 21. Research shows that the teenage brain is still very impulsive. Statistics underscore this: school shooters at Parkland, Newtown, Columbine, and Uvalde were all younger than 21.
Why aren’t universal background checks the norm? If you are legitimate, having nothing in your history that makes you unworthy of owning a gun, why would you object? Furthermore, unless you have nefarious intent, why would you object to a three-day waiting period? And by all that is logical and reasonable, why do you or anyone short of our military need an assault weapon with a bump stock?
There is no question that schools must provide social and emotional support for their students. We are in an era of immediate gratification with social media and every child having access by way of his own cell phone. Kids come to school with problems from home, problems generated on social media, and problems in school by way of bullying. Colt Gray endured all of these.
The response might well be, “So did kids decades ago, with the exception of cell phones.” And my response is, “But did they have unfettered access to assault rifles?”
If you are hell-bent on extolling the second amendment and the intent of our forefathers, I have the perfect answer. We collect all of the guns in this country and issue muskets to every individual who wants one for protection.
As I see it, the choice this election seems to be the gun lobby or the safety of our kids.
Carol Lucas is a retired high school teacher and a Lady’s Island resident. She is the author of the recently published “A Breath Away: One Woman’s Journey Through Widowhood.”
