School shootings have become a regular occurrence in our country. This year alone there have been 18 gun-related incidents at U.S. schools. A school shooting according to Everytown, a non-profit organization for gun safety, defines it as “every time a gun is discharged on school grounds and it shatters the sense of safety.” Of the 18 schools shootings listed for this year, only five have happened while school was in session and resulted in any injuries. While the statistics are not as bad as they seem, any loss of life is a tragedy and our rates of shootings are exponentially higher than in other countries.

The government has been planning to add stronger background checks, mental health programs and recommend more experienced gun people to work in schools, like military veterans and retired police. The age to buy a firearm would be raised from 18 to 21 and would require a three-day waiting period after purchase. One of the more controversial solutions that has been proposed to deter or stop schools shootings is to arm teachers with guns.

If this proposal were to succeed, here are some of the basics on how it would work. After volunteering for the program, the teacher would have to get a mental health screen and receive training for firearm safety, firearm precision and active-shooter training. They would be required to undergo at least 132 hours of training and pass any background and drug tests to be official sworn police officers. Essentially, the teacher would become a teacher and a cop. These teachers would get a stipend for their extra training.

There have been many objections to the proposal. Most who oppose it believe that arming teachers will increase violence in schools instead of decreasing it. Adding more guns to the equations will not solve the gun problem. Having more guns in the school would make them more accessible to people who want to get them. They could be taken and used against teachers and students instead of protecting them. Arming teachers would also make it harder for first responders to find the real shooter since the teachers and the shooter would both be armed and firing.

Those who support the proposal believe that it will help teachers better defend their students. Schools in rural areas normally support this because it would take first responders too long to arrive on scene and neutralize the threat if one were to occur. The students would no longer be “sitting ducks” and would have people who could protect them until the police arrived. They also believe that it would deter shooters from having an “easy” target since schools are a gun-free zone.

Everybody has a different opinion on how to solve the gun problem with some people believing guns are the problem and others believing that the people who have them are. One way or another, there are some changes that will be made when it comes to guns.