Let me just start off by saying, that this is a very important topic for me. Not only because this involves the future of gun ownership and purchases, as I am a gun owner and proud believer of our second amendment, but this also effects the safety and well-being of our countries student population, which I am a part of. This topic is the topic of allowing teachers to be able to carry their weapons onto school grounds.

According to the New York Times, there have been 239 school shootings since 2014, 17 of them taking place in 2018 alone. After tallying up all the deaths that have occurred from these at heinous atrocities, including those on college campuses, they tally up around 138 deaths, 138 souls that never got to live, 138 lives that could have been saved, but if you listen to me now, we can save a lot more.

When people hear "weapon" most of them automatically assume, gun, but the actual definition of a weapon is: a thing designed or used for inflicting bodily harm or physical damage. Now that may seem bad, but the other definition of a weapon is: a means of gaining an advantage or defending oneself in a conflict or contest. Now, how can you hear this, and not even think of the possible positive effects that could have happened if just one teacher had a weapon, all the lives that could have been saved, and those 138 deaths could have been avoided. Now, I'm not saying that you let children bring their weapons to school, for their brains, have not yet finished developing, but grown fully developed adults that have had prior training. Grown adults that would do anything to protect us but are having the odds stacked against them because the evil people that do these acts are using firearms. So, I call on you to at least attempt to even the odds and give our schools the proper protection that we deserve. Even if the people who chose to do this have to get a phycological evaluation every two months. Please, allow the teachers to protect us. Please, get this law passed. Please, don't let another child die because we don't have the proper protection.