A wide range of solutions have been proposed in the wake of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Unfortunately, many lawmakers, pundits and even parents have failed to realize that the simplest, most effective solution to gun violence in schools is not to make more laws controlling guns — but to allow greater freedom for schools and parents to find the right solutions on their own.
Naturally, one effective way to protect children from mass shootings is to either homeschool them or send them to a private school. Private schools not only have fewer shootings, but also a far smaller gang presence and much less violence than public schools. At the same time, private schools and homeschool parents should not be the only ones who have freedom to determine the safety level of their surroundings.
Without government intrusion in the public school system, even public schools could and should be able to decide what type of safety measures they want to take to protect their students. Instead of a “one size fits all” solution handed down by the state or federal government, all schools should be able to choose what measures they want to put in place to protect their students. Some schools could choose to arm certain teachers, while others could choose for fortify the exterior of the building to prevent students from bringing weapons into class in the first place. Still, other schools could put an emphasis on the mental health of their students so students would not want to shoot up their classmates in the first place.
In a truly free country, each school would be able to decide on their own approach to the problem. What is more, parents would be able to send their children to any school they choose instead of being constrained to take their children to the public school that corresponds to their geographic location. Schools with a good safety record and great safety policies would benefit from having more students while schools that do not come up with an effective solution would eventually be forced to either do so or shut down.
Taking a fully free market approach to school safety could eliminate or at least greatly reduce the odds of school shootings occurring in the future, as schools would have a compelling interest in keeping their children safe at all times. Such an approach would also reduce tension between pro- and anti-gun activists as parents could simply choose the school setting that is in line with their values and beliefs.
The notion that the government needs to pass laws to solve school shootings is a fallacy. Even an assault weapon ban would not necessarily save lives. Nearly half of the top twenty deadliest mass shootings did not even involve assault weapons; what is more, shooters who did use assault weapons could have killed just as many people with a regular gun. Instead of turning to big government for solutions, it’s time to allow concerned educators, parents and even young people to develop and implement the solutions that best suit their community.
~ Firearm Daily
