22 THE QUEENS COURIER • MARCH 29, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Make our schools gun-free
BY ROBERT A. SCOTT, CAROLE
ARTIGIANI AND DEVIN THORNBURG
Th e shooting in Parkland, Florida, has
prompted yet another round of discussions
about guns in schools, gun control
and mental health. Th is was yet one more
of too many shooting incidents that have
ripped the fabric of trust that is so essential
to a community.
It is a basic tenet of a stable society that
young people have a right to education
in a safe environment, free of violence.
Schools must be places of safety and
security, where children can learn unimpeded
by fear; places of inspiration, not
intimidation; places of caring and inclusiveness,
and never places of anonymity.
Th e United States pledged as much
in signing the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights and the Convention on
the Rights of the Child.
Unfortunately, we are failing in these
basic requirements. What happened in
Parkland was 2018’s 30th incident of
what are labeled as “mass killings”: the
killing of three or more people at a
time. It is reported that there have been
1,624 mass killings in the past fi ve years,
almost one a day. Of these, nearly 300
were shootings in schools, an average of
almost one per week.
School shootings seem to have some
common characteristics. Th ey are mostly
committed by young white males
who own multiple weapons, including
high-powered automatic rifl es, and who
have, at times, shown signs of emotional
distress or isolation. Th ey seem to have
become disaff ected with their schoolmates
and teachers.
In response to the killings, people cry
for greater gun control, increasing the
age to purchase a gun, requiring a “waiting
period” before completing a purchase,
and banning the mechanisms that
turn a rifl e into an automatic weapon.
Now, some politicians are calling for
teachers and school personnel to carry or
have weapons available nearby.
Yet even in regions where this
is allowed, the sentiment is negative.
Educators and their colleagues overwhelmingly
say they don’t want to be
armed or have access to a gun. Th ey cite
the evidence from research showing that
more guns equal more killing. In schools
where guns are allowed, the sentiment is,
at best, cautious. As one school superintendent
said, “We can’t stop an active
shooter, but we can minimize the carnage.”
So, what to do? Instead of guns, schools
need teachers with the time and training
to be alert to students who show signs
of trouble in their behavior, their speech
and their writing. Schools need protocols
for what to do with such information
even as they protect the privacy of
those exhibiting disturbing traits. Th is
means that schools need trained counselors
and psychologists, as well as teachers,
who have the time to get to know the
students and their families. Schools need
to be small enough to help create a sense
of community.
While the arguments for gun control
are critically important, the requirements
for school safety must not be drowned
out by these debates. We must consider
broader and more sustainable strategies
for protecting children.
Teachers don’t need guns; they need
support and respect. We don’t need
“friendly fi re” in our schools; we need
common sense controls over who has
access to guns. We know that the answer
to gun violence is not to make more guns
available. Th e answer is to adopt public
policies as if people matter.
Robert A. Scott is president emeritus of
Adelphi University; Carole Artigiani is
founder and president emerita of Global
Kids, Inc.; and Devin Th ornburg is professor
at .Adelphi University.
Finally time for common-sense gun laws in America
BY CONGRESSMAN TOM SUOZZI
Since the Florida school shooting that
ended the lives of 17 people, high school
students across the country have served
as an inspiration, and given us hope that
our response to gun violence will fi nally
include meaningful action. We have a
responsibility to help these young people
make their voices heard.
Congress also has a responsibility to act.
Th ere are no more excuses for inaction.
Our sadness over the loss of more innocent
life can never discourage us from
doing what is right.
Let’s look at the facts. Over 93 percent
of Americans and 80 percent of gun owners
support universal background checks.
Ninety percent of Americans also support
keeping those who are mentally ill from
buying fi rearms.
That’s why I support common-sense
legislation like H.R. 4240, the Public
Safety and Second Amendment Rights
Protection Act. If passed, this bill would
expand background checks to include
all commercials firearms sales, provide
reasonable exceptions for family and
friend transfers, and preserve Second
Amendment rights. States would also
be given the incentive of more federal
funding to keep proper record-sharing
systems to help report criminals
and the mentally ill, who we all agree
should not be able to buy a gun.
Since the 1990s, background checks
have blocked more than $3 million in
sales to people not allowed to purchase a
fi rearm. But gaps in the system mean that
gun shows and the internet are still perfectly
legal places for criminals and the
mentally ill to get their hands on a gun.
Th at needs to stop.
And while the right to “bear arms” is
guaranteed in the Constitution as clearly
as the freedom of speech, as with speech,
there are limitations when necessary to
curb the threat of violence. For example,
you can’t yell “fi re” in a crowded theater.
I became the fi rst member of Congress
from New York to cosponsor the Gun
Violence Restraining Order Act. Th is
legislation would give relatives and law
enforcement the ability to seek an immediate
temporary restraining order from
the courts to stop someone who is a danger
to themselves or others from buying
or possessing a gun.
We now know that the Parkland shooter
had been showing signs of mental illness
prior to the shooting. It’s possible
that a gun violence restraining order
could have helped prevent this tragedy.
Th is would be a commonsense way
to try and stop people who appear to be
an imminent threat to public safety without
curtailing their fundamental constitutional
rights. In fact, all those petitioning
for gun violence restraining orders must
prove their case in court.
We’ve heard time and again the NRA’s
answer to these mass shootings – “more
guns.” Th at makes no sense. Americans
already own more than 300 million guns.
Th e young people leading this movement
need our support. Th ey have
inspired a nation to rise and declare, “not
one more.” It’s time for the adults, and
Congress, to do the same.
Suozzi represents New York’s Th ird
Congressional District, which covers
northeast Queens, northern Nassau and
northwestern Suff olk counties.
March for Our Lives
Photo by Sean McCoy Photography