Other modern nations have far lower rates of gun violence than the U.S. For example, gun homicides are seven times higher in the U.S. than in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Other democratic nations with gun safety laws do not experience our levels of gun violence.
The political debate over gun rights has made it seem impossible to regulate firearms without sacrificing the Second Amendment. But the connection between guns and violence is not as simple as “guns cause crime” or “guns make us safer.” There is scientific evidence that some policies, such as restricting high risk individuals (such as felons and spouse abusers) from access to firearms, will reduce, but not
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Many people still believe their children won’t find their guns, so carefully hidden in dressers, nightstands, under beds, and in closets. We need a national campaign to secure every gun in every home. We need to use grant or federal funding, and even trigger lock giveaways or low-cost gun safes, provided by gun manufacturers.
Students who tell us after a shooting incident that they knew it might happen (another factor in the Secret Service study), demonstrate the need for them to be able to tell adults, in an anonymous, protected way. This includes recorded message lines, Twitter accounts, or other privacy-controlled social media sites, where campus administrators can monitor, investigate, and determine the validity of the tip.
Under stress we respond as to how we have been trained. If you have never been reminded that you need to dial “9” first to get an outside line before you dial 911, or that if you dial 911 on your cell phone, the state highway patrol may answer, then under stress you may not respond correctly. Students, teachers, administrators, and staff need to participate in regular active shooter drills; lockdown / shelter-in-place / or safe room drills; and fire and disaster drills. The key to success against an armed perpetrator is safe evacuations, barricaded safe rooms, or fighting back until the police