Published as an editorial in the Plattsburgh Press Republican, May 26, 2022

The days following the horrific school shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas will be sad and soul-searching days in America’s schools and communities. Nobody expresses their anxiety like parents. Nobody feels the pressing weight of responsibility for the safety of our schoolchildren like teachers, principals, and superintendents. I mourn for the victims of this senseless shooting, but I am also sad for my colleagues in area schools who are feeling an additional burden today. 

No doubt these feelings of sadness and responsibility have increased with every tragic act of school violence. The list is too long — Robb Elementary (TX), Sandy Hook Elementary (CT), Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School (FL), Columbine High School (CO), Santa Fe High School (TX), etc. North Country school communities will grieve along with their fellow schools, near and far. They will also face their own fears, insecurities, and worries. Could it happen here? It is a fair and natural question, and to the extent that it helps us reflect on existing school safety measures and strive to improve them it can be a productive effort. 

However, too often we look only at our schools for the answers. This means that we ignore the problems that lie elsewhere but infrequently intrude on the safety of our schools.

According to FBI data, during the twenty-year period beginning in 2000 there were 44 active shooter incidents in schools serving children from Pre-K to grade 12. School shootings represent approximately 13% of all active shooting situations. Businesses represent three times that number. Active shooting situations are more frequent in open public spaces than in schools. So schools are only a small part of this immense problem. 

But too often we expect teachers, principals, superintendents, and school board members to bear the entire burden.  That response ignores where the real problem lies. Solutions that limit safety efforts to schools themselves will likely be ineffective. Mass shootings may get our attention, but they are not the main cause of shooting deaths. As Nick Kristof told us in 2017 (and recently restated), more lives are lost by guns in the hands of friends or family members, and male suicides are even more common. Guns, not schools, are the problem. 

That being said, gun violence against schools is particularly shocking because of the youth and vulnerability of its victims, and the utter agony of loss.  Such tragedy should shake us of our complacency and inspire us to do something. Unfortunately we have a long history of doing nothing. This has to change.

Kristof points to the high correlation between stronger gun laws and lower death rates, and he suggests modeling gun regulations on automobile regulations. This is a public health approach rather than a traditional gun control approach, and it deserves our consideration. Other solutions deserve our attention as well. Doing nothing is unacceptable.

It is my hope that we can begin to tackle the complex and contentious issue of gun violence with open minds and level heads, keeping the name of every child’s life lost to guns at the forefront of our minds. It is our burden to bear — all of us — and it is time to take our responsibility seriously.