Evidence for firearms in schools is the opposite of what gun advocates purport
In 2013 The American Psychological conducted research on gun violence: Prediction, Prevention and Policy. They commissioned a panel of experts to reveal research-based conclusions and recommendations to reduce the incidence of gun violence including homicide, suicide and mass shootings. The following are the findings: Prevention efforts guided by research on developmental risk can reduce the likelihood that firearms will be introduced into community and family conflicts or criminal activity. Prevention efforts can also reduce the relatively rare occasions when severe mental illness contributes to homicide or the more common circumstances when depression or other mental illness contributes to suicide. Reducing incidents of gun violence arising from criminal misconduct or suicide is an important goal of broader primary and secondary prevention and intervention strategies. Such strategies must also attend to redirecting developmental antecedents and larger socio-cultural processes that contribute to gun violence and gun-related deaths. What works: Policies to reduce gun violence The use of a gun greatly increases the odds that violence will lead to a fatality: This problem calls for urgent action. Firearm prohibitions for high-risk groups — domestic violence offenders, persons convicted of violent misdemeanor crimes, and individuals with mental illness who have been adjudicated as being a threat to themselves or to others — have been shown to reduce violence. The licensing of handgun purchasers, background check requirements for all gun sales, and close oversight of retail gun sellers can reduce the diversion of guns to criminals. Reducing the incidence of gun violence will require interventions through multiple systems, including legal, public health, public safety, community, and health. Increasing the availability of data and funding will help inform and evaluate policies designed to reduce gun violence. In the report, they contend that the use of a gun greatly increases the odds of a gun fatality. Additionally, studies by the National Research Council conducted in 2004 and again in 2010 to address the relationship between right-to-carry laws and crime rates and both times found that concealed carry laws have a negligible effect on crime rates, according to a report by the Boston Review. Concealed carrying increases rates of aggravated assault. Two legal scholars, Ian Ayres and John Donohue, further reviewed the findings supporting concealed carry and discovered that the data contain numerous coding and econometric errors that, when corrected, yield the opposite conclusion: right-to-carry laws increase crime. In conclusion, the Boston Review said it best: “The NRA supports bills that permit guns to be carried in vehicles on school grounds, arguing that firearm owners should not be punished for accidentally leaving a gun in their car. Curiously, there seems to be little concern for what happens if the same careless owner accidentally forgets to lock his car, accidentally fails to put the safety on, or accidentally pulls the trigger, ad infinitum. It seems clear that there are many more ways to accidentally go wrong with a gun than there are ways to go right, and this is especially true in a densely populated, anxiety-ridden, alcohol-saturated, hormone-fueled school environment.” Resources http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/19/us/in-bid-to-allow-guns-on-campus-weapons-are-linked-to-fighting-sexual-assault.html?ref=politics&_r=0 http://www.bostonreview.net/us/evan-defilippis-guns-schools-nra-ucsb https://www.nraila.org/articles/20121001/allow-concealed-carry-on-campus http://www.apa.org/pubs/info/reports/gun-violence-prevention.aspx
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Dava Castillo
is retired and lives in Clearlake, California. She has three grown
children and one grandson and a Bachelor’s degree in Health Services
Administration from St. Mary’s College in Moraga California. On the
home front Dava enjoys time with her family, reading, gardening, cooking
and sewing. Archives
November 2015
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