Gun-Free Schools Act
Gun-related violence is a worldwide issue that threatens the human right to life. Gun violence occurs when individuals commit violence using any type of firearm. Statistics state that an average of three hundred people get shot in the United States every day, with over thirty per cent of them succumbing to the injuries. Gun violence impacts every individual in the community, with many of the victims being mainly people of colour, women and children. The issue of gun violence is a problem that has also spread into the school context, with many children and teens facing attacks in their educational institutions. Incidents of gun violence in schools are rising, with over one hundred children becoming victims in schools this year. The perpetrators of many mass shootings in schools happen to be students who attend the school or are previous students to the institutions. In most cases, the suspects tend to make attacks plans in advance. Research reveals that many of the students affected by these incidents are often students of colour.
The Act of ceasing gun-related violence, especially in schools, is a duty that falls on the individuals in authority and the public. Millions of firearms and ammunition are produced by industries annually. Most cases of gun violence in educational institutions seem to mainly affect elementary schools. With the increase of mass shootings in these facilities within the years, students, especially those of colour, continue to feel unsafe in educational institutions (Santilli et al., 2017). Predicting the possibility of persons using firearms on people is not probable. Instead, these acts are related to social factors, families, schools, peers, the individual, and the community. Many individuals, however, display common traits like incidences of violent behaviour, whether in the current or in the past.
The authority in each state has the responsibility of regulating how these firearms are distributed and used within their areas of jurisdiction. The law must ensure that every individual observes fundamental human rights like the right to life. Statistics reveal that most cases of gun-related violence concentrate low income earning neighbourhoods (Johnson et al., 2021). Most of the cases of mass shootings happen due to individuals with mental health issues. Social workers have to try and provide mental health services to the public. It is best to try and alleviate such incidences before they occur. The average age of individuals who commit gun-related violence in educational institutions is sixteen. As public members, it is also one’s duty to report any suspicions of illegal firearm possession. There are usually individuals who know firearm attacks before they happen.
The Gun-free school Act is a law set in place by the federal government.
This Act states that an educational institution has to expel any student who brings a firearm to any educational institution for one year. This law was initially introduced into the state authority by senator Herb Kohl in 1990. In addition, this law prohibited the possession of a loaded or unsecured firearm within the school zone. The term school zone refers to any educational institution, whether private or public and any property within a thousand feet of these facilities. President George W. Bush signed this Act incorporated it within the Crime Control Act in the same year. This law was, however, changed to the Guns Free Act.
This law has undergone several cases of being regarded as unconstitutional especially seen in the case of Andrew Lopez against the state. In this case, the suspect was found to possess a firearm by the school authority and within the school zone and got sentenced to five years imprisonment by Federal law in San Antonio, Texas. This Act was initially formed in 1990 into the state up until the year 1994 when the necessary authority later made amendments to the initial law (Swartz et al., 2016). This law faced limitations when it came to prosecuting people found guilty of violating the original law hence the need to change the law into one that deals with crimes related to firearms. The school authority found out from other sources that Lopez was in possession of a firearm within the school zone. The defendant’s lawyers argued that the state showed possibilities of exceeding its authority by enforcing this Act in the country. After several amendments, President Clinton was responsible for signing this law on March 31st, 1994.
Alleviating the problem of gun-based violence is beneficial to educational institutions and society in general. The public’s estimation to help alleviate problems like gun-related violence is known as the Willingness-to-pay (WTP). WTP, in this case, refers to the maximum amount of money and services that the public contribute to the problem of alleviating gun-based violence in society and in educational schools. Reducing gun-based violence in the general society assure individuals of the possibility of lower risks to injury or death, thereby increasing the security in society. Furthermore, reducing gun-based violence in educational facilities helps ensure students’ safety within the institutions. Both teachers and students have the right not have to live in fear of impending danger within such contexts.
References
Johnson, B. T., Sisti, A., Bernstein, M., Chen, K., Hennessy, E. A., Acabchuk, R. L., & Matos, M. (2021). Community-level factors and incidence of gun violence in the United States, 2014–2017. Social Science & Medicine, 280, 113969. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.113969
Santilli, A., O’Connor Duffany, K., Carroll-Scott, A., Thomas, J., Greene, A., Arora, A., Agnoli, A., Gan, G., & Ickovics, J. (2017). Bridging the response to mass shootings and urban violence: Exposure to violence in New Haven, Connecticut. American Journal of Public Health, 107(3), 374-379. https://doi.org/10.2105/ajph.2016.303613
Swartz, K., Osborne, D. L., Dawson-Edwards, C., & Higgins, G. E. (2016). Policing schools: Examining the impact of place management activities on school violence. American Journal of Criminal Justice, 41(3), 465-483. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12103-015-9306-6
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