For reasons beyond my comprehension, the mass shooting of unarmed, innocent civilians has become a common news story.
From the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012 that killed 26 people— 20 of which were children— to the recent school shooting at Oregon’s Umpqua Community College, armed attackers have been preying on schools to unleash their madness.
Whenever a tragedy as such happens, the debate about gun control is brought to everyone’s attention— even more than it already was.
What about the issue of school security and other public places? Why does everyone immediately think to unarm the bad guy instead of arming the good guy?
When it comes down to it, a mad man doesn’t need a gun to follow through with any horrific plans he may have. A man willing to kill innocent children, adults and the elderly wouldn’t allow the inability to require a firearm stop him from doing what he feels he needs to do.
Sadly, maniacs will always find a way to cause harm. Look at the 1978 Jamestown incident, when Jim Jones killed more than 909 Americans by poisoning Kool-Aid with cyanide. And these people were a part of his religious organization; they looked up to and followed him.
So instead of focusing all of our attention on doing away with firearms, which ultimately wouldn’t stop the issue of mass murders, we should be revamping school and public security.
It was reported that UCC had one unarmed security guard on duty at the time of the shooting. Not one security guard, but one unarmed security guard.
Go to any concert or visit any court and there is armed security. But go to school to further your education and better yourself where carrying even a water gun can you get expelled, and there is no armed security.
Students and faculty are left defenseless at the mercy of a crazed man merely looking to spill blood, a man merely looking to kill as many people as he can for whatever psychotic reason he crapped out of his brain.
I’m beginning to worry about the safety of my life every time I step onto campus or sit down in class.
It’s not as if the students at UCC woke up and went to class knowing their lives would forever be changed, and for some, taken away from them.
It was merely a normal day of people dealing with the typical stress and worries that come with going to college.
And then it all changed.
How do we know it isn’t going to happen to another school tomorrow or even here at Chico State? In all honesty, we don’t know.
We can prepare, though.
We can better prepare faculties and students with escape routes and go-to emergency procedures, we can equip classrooms and buildings with lockdown systems in times of danger and we can better equip schools with necessary force and protection to shut down an attacker, and maybe even prevent one altogether.
When it really comes down to it, pleading for mercy isn’t going to stop a crazed man with the thirst for blood from killing you, but a gun will.
Ryan Tubbs can be reached at [email protected] or @theorion_news on Twitter.
