The Piedmont Highlander

The Student News Site of Piedmont High School

The Piedmont Highlander

The Piedmont Highlander

Recent shootings across the nation spark discussion

In past years there have been pushes for tighter gun control laws after the Virginia Tech shooting in 2007, the Tucson shooting in 2010, and the Colorado movie theater shooting in July 2012. But no bills have been passed in response to these shootings.

The recent shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, that killed 27 people, has sparked the debate on gun control once again.

In January, President Obama laid out his plan to confront gun violence and mass shootings. According to an article from The Boston Globe, Obama’s proposal would ban all assault rifles, limit gun magazines to 10 rounds, and institute universal background checks for all gun buyers.

According to an article from CBS News, Washington Representative Dave Reichert said, “The assault weapons ban, the magazine limitations, does not solve the problem of gun crime.”

The National Rifle Association (NRA) is in the middle of the debate on gun control laws, and has a strong sway in Washington with its 4.3 million members. The NRA’s plan, in response to the Connecticut shooting, is to install armed guards at every school in the country.

According to an NRA speech on the Newtown shootings, “Every school in America needs to immediately identify, dedicate and deploy the resources necessary to put these security forces in place right now,” NRA executive vice president Wayne LaPierre said.

According to politico.com, at the NRA press conference, LaPierre also blamed the media and video game industry for glorifying violence.

“These terrible mass shootings can only be prevented by improved mental treatment and recognition,” senior Warren Lewis said.

After the shooting in Newtown, the notion of safety in schools is being questioned. Last year, every Piedmont Police Department (PPD) officer went through an active shooter course in order to prepare for a potential active shooter on campus. PPD Sergeant Catherine Carr said that this course trained the officers how to address the threat of an active aggressor.

“The PPD would like to have a mock scenario with an active shooter on campus again like we did a while back so that everybody can be prepared,” said Carr.

The PPD’s average response time is under two minutes.

“Although this type of thing can happen everywhere, I feel safe at PHS because I know that the administration has taken all the measures possible in making sure that we feel safe coming to school,” sophomore Rosie Schwarz said.

Junior Emma Beisner said that the Newtown shooting seemed like a rare freak event and that while it’s possible to happen anywhere, it shouldn’t make everyone paranoid, just more cautious.

“The high school can be more secure if all students are always alert and pay attention to their situation. If they hear about something or someone that could be potentially dangerous they should immediately react and report it,” Carr said.

 

 

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