Friday, September 6, 2013

New Laws Aim to Bolster Safety at Texas Public Schools

Week #1, Article #1
Ward, Mike. (2013, September 4). New laws aim to bolster safety at Texas public schools. Austin American Statesman.

  LINK  :  http://www.statesman.com/news/news/local/new-laws-aim-to-bolster-safety-at-texas-public-sch/nZm6L/  

1. Category of problem: safety
2. Level of problem: State level
3. The article concerns: The safety of children enrolled in public schools. Special training will now be permitted to all concealed handgun employee licensees in order to prevent from attacks on public schools.
4. Why is this important to families/individuals OR how does it affect individuals/families?
a. Having a trained member on site could do wonders to help prevent terrorists attacks and other crimes. Schools everywhere are being attacked with knives, guns, and even fights between students that get out of hand. Both individuals and families would benefit from having a marshal on school grounds. Not only is this more protection from the outside world, but it will also provide more security for the students.
5. What are your views on the issue/policy?
  a. Recently, numerous attacks have occurred at schools all over America. There are multiple threats that can leave these children vulnerable to fatal incidents such as knives attacks, gun rampages, and even bombs. Two new laws have been enacted in order to help prevent such occurrences. A trained marshal will be properly trained in the case of a terroristic event. The catch is, only the school principle and the government will be aware of who the marsal is. It will be similar to having an undercover cop on campus. With at least one trained employee on site, there is a better chance of prevention and survival from these life threatening incidents. The article stated that the ratio is one trained marshal to every four hundred students; this means that some larger schools may house a few trained employees that will hold handguns. I understand that this will not fully prevent an attack, but these precautions will help to possibly save more lives, and maybe even deture an incident in the future. Having an armed and trained marshal on site could save the lives of many innocent people. The marshal could attack, or simply scare away a robber, terrorist, or gunman. Not only could this save lives during the incident, but it could also alert other potential terrorist that public schools are prepared for their attacks.  Personally, I think that every parent would sleep better knowing that someone on campus has the proper training to protect their child.

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