NEW ORLEANS (April 13, 2018) – In the United States of America, as of March (that’s 11 weeks, 77 days, 1,848 hours and 110,880 minutes in 2018), an average of one school shooting has occurred every week, according to CNN. Now legislation is being proposed to allow teachers to carry their guns at schools for protection, acting on their Second Amendment right.
The nation is a major debate about how far Second Amendment protections should go in light of the most recent school fatalities – and rightfully so. But let’s not forget about First Amendment rights, specifically as it relates to NFL football player and activist Colin Kaepernick. One of the best football players in recent history is sitting on the sidelines without a contract as teams prepare for a second season without Kaepernick.
Rather than ban assault rifles, politicians want teachers to bring guns to class. On the other hand, Kaepernick was vilified and effectively lost his job over taking a knee. Does one inalienable right “trump” the other because of who benefits?
Kaepernick is still without a job after protesting police violence during the national anthem in the 2016-2017 football season. He said he was using the platform to raise awareness of injustices such as the killing of unarmed black men. Ultimately, Kaepernick received the cold shoulder for doing so in the workplace even though as stated by the First Amendment he has the right to religion, freedom of speech, the press, to assemble and to protest or petition for the redress of grievances.
Guns are being brought into schools on the premise that teachers will be able to protect their students and themselves. Most citizens do not want to arm teachers because of the fear of creating even more chaos. But some states already have implemented the concept, such as Arizona, Texas, Arkansas and Utah. These teachers would need training, but it still would be less training than basic training for police officers – and look at how that’s going for black folks. Will teachers really be properly prepared for the job?
Let’s look at the latest news about teachers and guns: You have the case in Dalton, Ga., where a teacher barricaded himself in a classroom and fired his weapon out of a window on March 1; he was arrested. Then in mid-March, a teacher with police training accidentally fired in weapon in a classroom during a lesson on gun safety in California, injuring three students.
As Ashley Kurth, a teacher who sheltered students during the Marjory Stoneman shooting put it, the teacher holding a gun would face a major logistical problem once adrenalin-hyped authorities arrive.
She said during a recent CNN town hall, “The first thing that happened when the SWAT time came in – the first question they asked was, ‘Is anybody injured?’ And the following question was, ‘Does anybody have a gun?’ And I wouldn’t want to be the person saying, ‘Yes, I do.’ ”
(She’s right. We all remember what happened to Philando Castile when he calmly told an officer during a traffic stop that he had a gun in the car, right? He DIED.)
Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida agreed with the teacher, saying “Imagine in the middle of this crisis and the SWAT team comes into the building, and there’s an adult with the weapon in their hands, and the SWAT team doesn’t know who is who, and we have an additional tragedy that was unnecessary.”
Why does it feel that some people in America are so adamant about being pro-gun and taking every chance they can to bear arms? There’s an ongoing battle against stricter gun laws because “guns don’t kill people, people kill people.” Proponents of stricter gun control are not trying to take away the right to bear arms.
So now, America is allowing guns in the workplace but not First Amendment rights? So your Second Amendment right trumps my First Amendment right? Gotcha. Sad.
