School shootings - is it just a U.S. problem? can they be prevented?

First off, is that true? is the U.S. the only nation with this sort of problem?

It's tough to say for sure, living in the age of misinformation. Here's a great example:

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/10/2/16399418/us-gun-violence-statistics-maps-charts

What a load of crap. It would take a lot of time to explain why/how, but all of the graphics in this article are very misleading, or just downright non-sensical. (yes, that's a word - because I'm using it.) Look at the citations too - almost all of them are from sources who have a well known anti-gun agenda.

Here's what a well known media outlet with an anti-gun agenda has to say about the stats:

"The 90 US mass shootings are nearly one-third of the 292 such attacks globally for that period. While the United States has 5% of the world's population, it had 31% of all public mass shootings."
(Source: https://www.cnn.com/2015/08/27/health/u-s-most-mass-shootings/index.html )

Okay great - I think we're getting somewhere here. Where did they get those statistics? ALWAYS ask that question.

https://www.infoplease.com/us/crime/timeline-worldwide-school-and-mass-shootings

I'm convinced. The U.S. does have a unique problem with mass shootings.

For this post, I would like to limit the discussion to school shootings only, as other mass shootings add many other elements to the discussion.

What to do about this problem? What has already been done to prevent these?

Not a whole lot. The only real change that's been made in the recent years I am aware of is the restrictions on large capacity magazines for "assault weapons." (by the way, that term was invented by the anti-gun lobby. the AR-15 is not an "assault weapon," it's just another semi-automatic rifle.)

I'm sure some schools have added armed guards/police to the payroll. Some have built fences around them to keep the kids safe. So now a bunch of schools are a lot like prisons - great solution. I'm sure that makes a great learning environment.

A lot of folks believe the solution is more gun control. Some others think background checks and mental health documentation will prevent this.

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They won't. Plain and simple. The people that are committing these crimes do not care about laws - because they are criminals. Go head - put all kind of extra gun laws on the books. Make it harder for law-abiding citizens to defend themselves. Meanwhile, the criminals keep on doing what they do - ignoring laws. As far as the mental health aspect - it is not predictable. That is the nature of mental illness. We can keep a mental health profile on everyone - make it mandatory that everyone gets evaluated every few years or so, and keep a national database. Oh wait...our government already does that. They use the data from our online presence and that spits out a % chance of a mass shooting. What about the folks that don't have an online presence? You're right! We need to shrink them too!
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All of the most suggested solutions to this problem have one thing in common. THEY WILL COST US A LOT OF MONEY!

Building fences, hiring armed guards, creating regulations, new programs, arbitrating all of it - we just can't afford it.

Not only is our federal government unable to protect you and your family from evil individuals, it is also not it's responsibility. I'll say it again.

IT IS NOT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT'S JOB TO PROTECT YOU FROM BAD GUYS. protect us from invading armies? ya, they can do that. and they're good at it. They are NOT effective at preventing mass shootings, and they never will be.

I have a very affordable solution to this. It will actually cost no money.

LET THE TEACHERS HAVE GUNS

(oh no did he? oh wow yeah he did)

1. It will cost the taxpayers ZERO - the teachers that want to use firearms to protect themselves, their students and co-workers, most likely already have them. If not, we actually have a pretty good system in place for letting those law-abiding citizens acquire a firearm, and even learn how to use it properly.

2. Most school shootings were carried out by a single person. If they know going in they are outnumbered, do you think this may deter some people knowing that there is a good chance they won't make it out alive? Yes it will. Not everyone, because some of them actually have a death wish. And for those evil people, their lives should end before they can reload.

We can debate the root causes of all this violence, but we don't have time to fix the causes. Even if we did know how to fix them, it would take generations to correct. There are too many lives at stake right now. We need to protect these children today.

Getting legislation passed on the federal level is too slow. This needs to happen on the state level. Federal laws be damned. It won't be the first time states have thumbed their nose at federal laws and regulations.

The Federal government will not be able to protect you and your children from this type of threat. It is not equipped to do it. It is not designed to do it.

If you agree, awesome. Do something about it. Call your state representatives. Don't stop until they make it lawful for our educators to protect themselves and our children.

If you don't agree, then find us a better solution. I would love to hear it.

Be kind. Be fearless. Be free.

-Massiv