Last Wednesday, President Trump said he believes that having trained teachers and other faculty members carry guns could solve the problem of school shootings. However, there are a few problems with this idea.

Teachers become teachers because they want to educate students about World War II, The Great Gatsby, trigonometry or even how to serve an ace in volleyball. Not to carry weapons or become public defenders.

And what happens if a student or someone else gets ahold of a gun? Many supporters of this proposal argue that the teachers can lock their guns in drawers or keep them hidden. But what happens if that teacher loses those keys? Or a student steals the keys? Or the teacher forgets to lock the drawer? Or maybe one day the teacher decides to use the weapon? Yes, I know these theories might be unlikely, but it only takes one small mistake for something to turn into a disaster. 

The safety issue occurring in schools today isn’t the result of unarmed teachers; it’s the fact that the wrong people are getting ahold of guns. There is actually a strange irony to the idea of handing out more guns to solve the issue of civilian casualties due to gun ownership.

The best way to prevent the threat of a school shooting is to enact stricter gun laws and tighten background checks. Also, schools are designed as gun-free zones for a reason. Parents shouldn’t have to worry about the safety of their kids when they are at school and students shouldn’t be afraid that something tragic will happen to them when they are getting an education.

School shootings will not go away once teachers are armed. They will go away after gun laws become stricter and background checks tighter. We must reduce the number of weapons in schools, not give out more.