School Shootings in America: What Causes Them and What Should Be Done To Save Them

School shootings have been all too popular in American schools in recent years. The rise in this form of a mass shooting, which targets educational facilities such as daycare centers, primary schools, high schools, and tertiary institutions, has sparked public outrage, particularly on the issue of gun violence among students. Of course, this has prompted a number of analysts to join the cause and investigate the various causes of the school shooting. Malcolm Gladwell (123), for example, contends that the profile and inspiration of shooters differ. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the primary reasons behind the shootings and how to stop the widespread f such a social vice. Gladwell’s point brings us to the subject matter. Should guns be allowed in college? Well, from my perspective, guns should not be allowed in any learning institution since it threatens the comfort of the students found in the school environment. Without any doubts, a significant number of students can become afraid by just spotting a gun.

But of late, we have experienced an increase in the number of students possessing a gun in schools. We can blame the gun control laws in the United States which are not as punitive as expected. Due to that, several families have weapons at their homes, and this has encouraged children to feel like there is nothing wrong with possessing a gun. It is sad that the current generation children can also easily acquire training on how to use the weapons, being the primary reasons why access to the guns is on the rise.

Another expert in this field, Jesus M. Villahermosa suggests there is nothing good that arises when people carry guns. In fact, possessing a firearm is dangerous as people may not feel comfortable being around someone owning a firearm. (Villahermosa 112-115). Even after the recent shootings that occurred at Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois University, states should not allow students to carry guns on colleges.

Villahermosa also argues that giving a gun to an unqualified person does not guarantee safety and therefore one should only access the guns if they have undergone training and have acquired enough skills to deal with the gun. At the same time, gun laws should get strengthened. For instance, police should have powers to inspect, check gun safes, as well as ensuring safe storage. But the most important aspects should be mobilizing the society, more especially students that they should not possess a gun without proper training (Nedzel 160).

Another primary cause of school shootings in America is mental health complications (Lebron 212). Most of the individuals involved in the shooting have shown to possess symptoms of psychological breakdown, categorized as being mentally ill. A primary intervention to prevent those with mental problems from engaging in shooting involves exposing them to psychiatric support to ensure that they have improved health, reduced depression, and emotional control.

Another cause of school shooting is bullying and injustices collectors. An injustice collector is an individual who believes that they have been insulted, harmed or mistreated. Most of the school shooters have long-term memories of several real or imaginary grievances inflicted on them by others. They often kept the list of those who crossed their paths hence engage in the shooting incident to revenge.

In the current world, the culture of violence fills the entertainment industry, more especially the action movies characterized by various shooting scenes. Without any doubts, that has resulted in the numerous school shootings experienced in American schools. The violence is not only encountered in movies but also in video-games, music, comic books, and other forms of entertainment which contributes to the shooting (Ozturk 156). That exposure of children to violent contents makes them vulnerable to committing crime at an advanced age. Hollywood should enact own self-imposed ban on the use of weapons in any of their films or television production. According to Cornell, such violent movies make a student feel that the only solution to his or her frustration is through shooting (Cornell 100).

Conclusion

In either case, the truth that remains is that there are many reasons which may lead to school shootings. But the good news is that we can have control of the situation. As the old saying suggests, ‘Prevention is better than cure,’ can be justified and for sure we can decide to apply this principle to curb school shootings. And the only way to control such a situation is to employ armed security personnel in schools.

Works Cited

Cornell, Dewey, et al.‟ Student Threat Assessment as a standard School Safety Practice: Results from a Statewide Implementation Study.″ (2017).

Gladwell, Malcolm. "Thresholds of violence: How school shootings catch on. ″The New Yorker: Annals of Public Safety (2015).

Lebrun, Marcel. Books, Blackboards, and Bullets: School Shootings and Violence in America. Rowman & Littlefield Educ, 2011, p. 212.

Nedzel, Nadia Concealed carry: "The only way to discourage mass school shootings. ″Academic Questions 27.4 (2014):429-435.

Ozturk, Gulay. Handbook of Research on the Impact of Culture and Society on the Entertainment Industry. 2014, p. 156

Villahermosa Jr, Jesus M. “Guns Don't Belong in the Hands of Administrators, Professors, or Students.″ Chronicles of Higher Education 54.32 (2008).