The Right to Bear Arms... and Lesson Plans

This Article will argue that due to the unique characteristics of mass school shootings, including their swiftness, unpredictability, and at times advanced planning and preparation, that American society can no longer simply rely on law enforcement to effectively stop or even prevent future acts of mass violence from occurring on our schools. Rather, legally licensed and armed teachers and school personnel are actually the most effective deterrent to mass school shootings. The primary focus of this Article will be schools kindergarten through twelfth grade (K-12), as they comprise of the majority of mass shootings in the United States and typically do not have their own school police department as most public and private postsecondary schools do. Part I of this Article will review how some noteworthy states are legislatively combating this problem by allowing school faculty to legally carry weapons, with proper training and licensing, on school campuses. Part II will discuss the strong opposition to allowing guns on school campuses and analysis of suggested alternative preventative measures. Part III of this Article will analyze how effective these legislative measures have been since their inception. Finally, Part IV will attempt to look to the future in order to predict the ongoing evolution of legally allowing guns on school campuses