COMMENTARY

Why bills to allow guns in Michigan schools scare me

Detroit Free Press
The Michigan Senate approved legislation Wednesday allowing the concealed carry of weapons in gun-free zones such as schools,

Over the last 15 years in my career as a public school teacher, coach and principal, little has frightened me more than the proposed Michigan Senate bills 584 and 586. Together, the bills would force public K-12 school districts to allow concealed loaded handguns in our school buildings. My most important job as a school principal is to create the safest possible environment for our students to learn and grow, both academically and emotionally. These bills frighten me precisely because the presence of guns would create a less safe environment for our kids.
    
Last month, Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof said that, after the tragedy in Las Vegas, it’s “an awkward time” to advance legislation that would weaken Michigan’s gun laws. But over the weekend, we saw yet another horrific mass shooting, this time in Sutherland Springs, Texas. Even the wake of these tragedies, the Senate voted this week in favor of SB 584 and SB 586

Katie Jeffrey

As the legislation moves now to the Michigan House, I hope our representatives choose to protect our schools by rejecting these dangerous bills. Though the bills, in their current form, would reduce open carry of firearms in schools, they would also force our school districts to allow civilians to carry hidden, loaded handguns on their premises. This approach is truly baffling: It seems to acknowledge the dangers of open carry in schools -- and at the same time create new and different ones by allowing people to carry handguns hidden from view.

America’s schools are already extremely safe places, due to the care and professionalism of our teachers and educators.  On average, only 1% of all homicides of school-age children occur on school grounds, on the way to or from school, or during a school sponsored event. Contrast this with the fact that, on average, nearly seven children are killed every day in America by gun violence -- both intentionally and unintentionally. For many students, school is a safe haven that they can come to without the fear of gun accidents or violence that can sometimes characterize their environments outside of school. Forcing schools to allow loaded handguns on their premises would destroy this sacred safe space for our kids. 

As a longtime educator, I can also say that accidents and poor decisions happen all the time in our schools. We work every day with students whose brains are not fully developed. For our boys, in fact, it will not be until long after they leave their college campus that the decision-making parts of their brain are fully developed. 

Does it make sense to allow guns into environments where 95% of the humans in the building may not be able to make responsible decisions? Imagine the 8-year-old who has forgotten her lunch and throws a massive tantrum, full of fear that she will not eat that day. Or, picture the 16-year-old boy whose girlfriend has just broken his heart in front of the entire lunch room, and his first thought is of suicide. These situations occur all the time in the day-to-day life of a teacher or school administrator. One of our most important jobs is to help students cope with these fight-or-flight instincts, to teach them how to navigate intense emotions, and to help them learn to practice these skills in the safest possible environment. Now, imagine these two situations with the presence of guns in the building. Introducing loaded guns into this environment invites disaster and tragedy. 

Asking our teachers and school staff to expand their already daily worries about the social-emotional and academic needs of our students to include whether or not guns are present in their classroom, in the cafeteria, on the playground are unreasonable and unsafe requests. We should not have to worry about guns being fired intentionally or unintentionally in the sacred place in which we care for and help grow Michigan’s most prized assets - our children. Lawmakers must act to ensure that our schools remain bastions of safety and calm in our increasingly chaotic world. 

Katie Jeffrey is an educator and a volunteer with the Michigan chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. She lives West Bloomfield.