“Lockdown, lockdown, lockdown!” you hear these words over the intercom while you’re sitting in history calls. While everybody is moving away from the door you see your teacher grab out a Glock 19 from his waist.

There have been hundreds of people brutally murdered by school shootings; when will it stop? Could the solution be to allow teachers to conceal carry during school hours? It could help the safety of students if teachers concealed carry? Some students would feel safer if teachers concealed carry. Conceal carrying could prevent school shootings.

  The idea of teachers carrying guns has never been debated on a political stage or in any political campaign. So why aren’t people talking about it? Gun violence in schools is increasing. Concealed weapons just might be a solution for one of the biggest problems in the U.S. Since 2000, there have been 843 school shootings in the U.S. After over 21 years, a solution is yet to be found.

   A survey polling 349 students at West Ottawa High School showed 58% of polled students have guns or family that owns guns. However, 68% of students said that they wouldn’t want teachers to conceal carry during school hours. 

   A student at West Ottawa said, “I feel that there is a time and place where guns should be available for emergencies only.” 

  Chris Norton, an English teacher and a coach at West Ottawa High school, has been in the school system since 1990. 

   Most people agree with Norton’s point that the same goes for teachers carrying. Not every teacher should be able to conceal carry because some teachers don’t deserve that responsibility. Norton said, “School should be the one place in society children and adults should feel safe.” 

   “People aren’t going to sit there and say “oh teachers got guns, I’m not going to shoot up a school” they are going to be like. “Well, there is going to be a shoot-out maybe or maybe not, I’m going to avoid that teacher,” Norton said. There was an article by the Washington Post that said it was more likely to have shootings in gun-free zones. The article debunks the idea that it’s safer in gun-free zones because it would be less likely to have a shooting where people can freely conceal carry.

  Victor Perez started teaching at West Ottawa in 2001, he also worked for Fennville Public School. Mr. Perez has been in the school system for over 37 years. 

   Perez said, “I respect everybody’s desire to have one, we have a constitutional right to bear arms.  It could be a little stricter and yet allow the people that want to have them be allowed to have them.”

   Keenan Montoya is a security guard at West Ottawa High school and a coach. He has been there for 4 years now. “I think there should be proper challenge and steps taken and have that right to be respected,” Montoya said,  “I’m not 100% sure but if there was going to be an active shooter it might be a deterrent to know that there are more armed individuals in the building”

  Ryan Lancaster is the head of security for both middle school and high school at West Ottawa. He has been at West Ottawa for 10 years. As a security guard, he doesn’t own any firearms “I just haven’t found the right gun yet”. 

   He goes on to say “Guns don’t make me nervous. I have spent a lot of time in the world, and that’s just what you do, especially in South America and Central America. People just wander around with guns.” “Would the school be less of a target if someone with a gun knew every faculty member had a gun? Yes, I do believe that people would be deterred from coming into the school if they knew that every faculty member had a gun.” 

   Should some teachers be able to conceal carry during school hours? Most students and teachers say no, but there are, of course, the people that think it could be a solution to the problem of school shootings. Most people agree something needs to be done to make school safer.