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School Violence Strikes Again Islam Online, MI In yet another act of school violence, a 12-year-old in Ohio held his classroom at gunpoint. Entering the classroom on a Thursday morning, the boy pointed a gun and told his classmates and teachers to get down. Another student in the hall overheard the situation and alerted another teacher, who was able to retrieve the gun. Evidently the boy’s mother is in jail and he had hopes of joining her. The entire incident took just a few minutes, but the impact on the children and their parents will remain. School safety is one of the hottest topics in the United States today. The past several years has seen numerous highly publicized instances of violence among schoolchildren. Among the more shocking recent cases, a 6-year-old boy fatally shot a classmate, possibly due to a playground disagreement the previous day. All this comes despite nationwide gun-free zone laws that prohibit the possession of firearms on or near public and private schools. Not long ago, issues at school were dealt with fistfights or possibly someone pulling a knife. Today, not only are students bringing guns, but semi-automatics, such as the one an Oregon 15-year-old used to kill his parents before opening fire in his school cafeteria. Safety measures in schools have been much more rigorous as a reaction to the recent violence. Metal detectors, numerous police and security officers, and book bag checkpoints seem more appropriate in detention centers than in schools, but they are everyday occurrences for many of the nation’s students. Some children are no longer allowed to carry backpacks to classes or wear coats that might conceal a weapon. These rules are meant to improve safety and ease the minds of students and parents. Many parents worry though that the problem goes far beyond the reaches of school grounds. “There is a more elemental problem here, something that is wrong with the entire culture that we live in,” says Maryland parent Habiba Ahmed. Her concern is directed at a society she feels is embedded with violence and a love of guns she finds “alarming and unsafe.” Ahmed has joined the ranks of gun-control advocates and is celebrating a small victory in the fight against the gun-manufacturers. Safety Locks – A Step in the Right DirectionIn response to a series of workplace and school shootings, the United States’ largest gun-manufacturer, Smith & Wesson, has promised to provide safety locks on their guns within 60 days. Within a year, the guns will also be made child-resistant. This first-time deal was reached with the Housing of Urban Development and Treasury and officials representing state and local governments. Smith & Wesson pledges a “code of conduct” that should increase gun safety in sales and distribution. The deal is a victory for gun-control advocates who have fought hard in the past few years. Recent school violence, as well as workplace violence, had given a real push to these groups. Housing secretary Andrew Cuomo was extremely pleased with the agreement. “We’ve heard the statistics many times… The rate of firearm deaths [of] children in this country is 12 times higher than the other 25 industrialized countries combined,” he said. “So we approached the process in the belief that reasonable gun manufacturers could sit down…to stop the senseless gun violence.” They have certainly made a start. Habiba Ahmed looks forward to seeing these measures put into action. “It’s true what they say about it being the people that kill, not the guns. But how many of these kids would kill if they didn’t have such easy access to guns? I know my kids may do wrong, but first I will put every possible obstacle in front of them. I feel no guilt for making it difficult for children to use a gun.” Some Shocking
Statistics
Related articles and links: Student Pledge Against Gun Violence
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