What Can We Do to Stop Mass School Shootings?

On March 27th, Nashville, TN joined the 13 communities that have experienced a school shooting this year. This morning, a gunman opened fire at Covenant School, a private elementary school for students in preschool through sixth grade. At the time of this blog post, at least 7 individuals are dead after this tragedy, including the shooter.

For a list of the 350+ school shootings that have taken place since Columbine, click here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_school_shootings_in_the_United_States_(2000%E2%80%93present)

The United States holds the record for most school shootings, following the US is Mexico with 8 school shootings.

This information begs the question: What can we do to stop mass school shootings?

1. Demand gun control. It’s a fact: US states with more relaxed gun control laws and higher rates of gun ownership have higher rates of mass shootings. For example, in Texas it’s alarmingly easy to buy and openly carry a gun and, not surprisingly, is close to leading the US in school shootings. We know what we need to do. Lobby and advocate for gun control laws. These laws can include raising the age to purchase semi-automatic firearms, require background checks on all gun sales, and/or pass extreme risk laws. 
2. Build a culture of secure gun storage. This can include enacting and enforcing secure firearm storage laws.
3. Foster a safe and trusting school climate.  According to a study done by Alfred University, only around half of students would tell an adult if they heard another student talk about shooting someone at school. We need to foster an environment where students feel safe to talk to adults when they hear alarming information. You can check out the study here: https://www.alfred.edu/about/news/studies/lethal-school-violence/can-we-prevent.cfm
4. Initiate trauma informed emergency planning. This ensures that staff can secure schools and law enforcement can respond quickly when there is an emergency in schools. 
5. Avoid practices that can cause harm and traumatize students. This is a no brainer. Protect our students.

References:
https://wisevoter.com/country-rankings/school-shootings-by-country/
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-science-is-clear-gun-control-saves-lives/
https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/articles/2022-05-27/states-with-the-most-school-shootings

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