After the Uvalde school massacre, ex-President Donald Trump and the gun lobby once again proposed turning schools into fortresses. But a lot has already been implemented in Texas. It was of no use.
Ted Cruz, Republican Senator from Texas, didn’t know. “Had Uvalde received a grant to improve school security, they might have made changes that could have stopped the shooter,” he said during a speech at the National Rifle Association (NRA) convention just days after the shooting Uvalde, Texas school massacre that killed 21. Then, Cruz said, the shooter “could have been killed at the only point of entry by our security guards before he hurt any of those innocent kids and teachers.” Embarrassing for the senator: Uvalde has already received such a government grant – about two years ago.
In January 2020, $69,000 from a state “program to improve physical safety in schools” went to the Uvalde School District, according to a report in local newspaper The Texas Tribune. It is unclear how many measures this money was used for. The school district has a safety plan according to which the Uvalden Elementary School has at least been fenced off in such a way that people who do not have to be on the school premises are not allowed in at all or only in a controlled manner (perimeter fencing). But that didn’t stop the 18-year-old gunman from breaking into the school building and shooting around.
18 more shoots since Uvalde
For years there have been laws in the USA both at the federal level and in the individual states that are intended to prevent so-called mass shootings. Hundreds of millions of dollars have been allocated to enable schools to implement security measures – including exclusive access to buildings, heavily fortified fences, metal detectors, locked and secured doors, and armed teachers and security guards. Texas has also had such a law since the Santa Fé school massacre four years ago that killed ten.
However, the money is often not enough to finance all safety precautions. In addition, there are probably only a few school employees who are willing to go to work with a gun. The measures, projects and laws have not worked either: this year alone there have already been more than 200 mass shootings in the United States – including 27 school massacres. Since Uvalde there have been 18 other incidents with a total of eleven deaths. (as of May 30th)
Trump and NRA continue to call for schools to be fortified
“It only happens in this country,” Connecticut Democratic Senator Chris Murphy lamented after Uvalde’s fatal shooting, pleading with his fellow Republicans to work together to find a way to achieve the Second Amendment right to property and finally to noticeably limit the carrying of weapons. But although the debate about gun laws has become more lively in view of the very young victims of Uvalde and a handful of Republican MPs have declared their willingness to support stricter rules or bans, the well-known calls for those were again made at the NRA congress in Houston Measures that have not only failed in Uvalde.
“What we need now is a major safety overhaul in schools across our country,” said ex-President Donald Trump – a proven gun lobby supporter. It must be about “finally fixing our schools and protecting our children”. A restriction on access to weapons, on the other hand, was not an issue even a few days after the school massacre. After the attacks of September 11th, after all, airplanes were not banned, but the safety of the cockpits was increased, Congresswoman Lauren Boebert (Colorado) brought up a comparison popular with Republicans and gun lovers.
Preventing school massacres: Experts name options
The attitude of the Republicans and the gun lobby is not only politically controversial. Experts and academics in the USA have not only been dealing with the question of how such tragedies can be prevented since the recent school massacre in Texas. Your key insights:
Apparently, a number of schools have already taken this advice to heart. The White House recently registered a 65 percent increase in social workers and a 17 percent increase in other educational advisors, reports National Public Radio (NPR) — funded by federal Covid-pandemic aid, not fortification laws of the schools.
Meanwhile, fears are growing that the conservative-dominated Supreme Court will extend gun-bearing rights in an upcoming decision. The US Supreme Court has to decide whether the state of New York can make the carrying of weapons for self-defense subject to very strict permits (Case: New York State Rifle
Sources: The Hill, The Texas Tribune, National Public Radio, Education Week, Gunviolencearchive, Uvalde School District Safety Plan
