Lawmakers Debate Guns in Schools Proposals - PBS

Lawmakers Debate Guns in Schools Proposals
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/features/us/jan-june13/guns_02-01.html
U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Sgt. Craig Pusley volunteered to stand guard at Hughson Elementary School in
Hughson, Calif., days after the Sandy Hook shooting, but did so without a gun. Asked about his lack of
firepower, Pusley said, "I don't need to be armed to do this."
From buzzer entrance systems to metal detectors, security at American schools is designed to keep guns
out. But some state and local politicians are pushing for guns in schools, advocating arming teachers to
stop a shooting from the inside.
The Dec. 14 shooting in Newtown, Conn., when 20-year-old Adam Lanza shot and killed 20 students and
six adults in Sandy Hook Elementary School, has pushed the debate over guns and school security to the
forefront of the American political conversation.
Page 1 http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra

Days after the shooting, President Obama appointed Vice President Joe Biden head of a Gun Policy Task
Force to send proposals to Congress to reduce gun violence. President Obama signed executive orders
and called upon Congress to renew a ban on military-style assault weapons. In the 1990s, then-Senator
Biden helped pass an assault weapons ban that expired in 2004.
More guns or fewer guns?
The National Rifle Association (NRA), the largest American gun advocacy organization, held a press
conference a week after the Newtown shooting in which NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre
demanded armed police officers be stationed in schools.
"The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun," LaPierre said, adding that the
real problem is not guns, but violent movies and video games, and the nation’s “broken” mental health
system.
Some gun advocates think teachers should be trained and licensed to carry guns. Responding to the
Newtown shooting, Texas Governor Rick Perry warned against “knee-jerk” gun control and argued that
school districts should have the power to control who can carry guns in schools.
Under current law in Texas, licensed adults are permitted bring concealed firearms to schools with the
principal’s permission. According to a review of the firearms and education laws of all 50 states, there
are 18 states where an exception to the Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990 allows for weapons that are
“approved by a school in the school zone.”
Don Dunn, superintendent of schools in Van, Texas, oversees a district that voted last week to allow
teachers with permits to carry concealed handguns. “We are not the police. We are not asking them to
be the police. We are asking them to fill that gap until the police get there," he told the Associated
Press.
Teachers respond to gun proposals
But the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the National Education Association (NEA), two major
unions representing teachers across the country, oppose armed teachers.
Page 2 http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra

In El Paso, Texas, middle school teacher Patricia Amezagea told Channel 9, “I don't think me having a
gun is going to save anybody with somebody who comes in with rifle or a machine gun. Could I shoot a
13-year-old whose threatening people with a gun? I don't know. I don't know if I can. All I know is that
my job is to protect them as much as I can."
Lawmakers proposal different gun control measures
While Representatives Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Steve Stockman of Texas are pushing Congress
to repeal the Gun-Free School Zones Act, President Obama recently announced gun safety proposals
that would limit high-capacity ammunition magazines and military-style assault rifles while also leaving
the door open for heightened school safety measures.
Biden’s task force also recommended strengthening the gun registration system and creating training
programs for school personnel and law enforcement to better respond to school shootings.
- Compiled by Simone Pathe for NewsHour Extra
Page 3 http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS (more research might be needed)
1. What side of this debate do you agree with? Should there be more bans on guns or
greater freedom for people to carry guns?
2. Do you think violent movies and video games are to blame for more real-life violence?
Why or why not?
3. What other actions do you think we could take to reduce gun violence?
Extension Activity
Have students write a 300-500 word essay on this topic providing clear examples. Send
your completed editorial to NewsHour Extra (extra@newshour.org). Exceptional essays
might be published on our Web site.
Page 4 http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra