Bullet-resistant shields in schools underscore a societal failure | Editorial

Preparing kids for school used to mean new shoes, a book bag, pencils, copybooks, and other supplies. But one New Jersey school district plans to equip schools with bullet-resistant shields to protect students and teachers.

Some school safety experts say the shields are well-intentioned but not practical. Perhaps, but the very fact the Gloucester City school system feels compelled to take such action speaks to the sad state of America’s gun epidemic. There are more guns than people in the U.S., and gun violence recently surpassed car accidents as the leading cause of death among children.

School shootings have become an accepted fact of life — and death — across America. Active shooter drills and lockdowns are now part of the safety protocol at most schools. In recent years, some parents have bought their kids bulletproof backpacks. A growing number of states allow teachers and staff to carry guns.

Some research shows that active shooter drills and other safety measures add to the trauma kids are experiencing.

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Now come bullet-resistant shields donated by Leo Holt, president of the freight transportation company Holt Logistics in Gloucester City. Holt’s generous gesture is one man’s attempt to keep students, teachers, and staff safe.

Sadly, none of the previous efforts have slowed the rise in school shootings. There have been 50 school shootings in 2022, according to Education Week. That is by far the most ever in a single year, topping last year’s record of 35.

More appalling is the casual response to such horrific tragedies. The school shootings get brief news coverage before most everyone moves on. Then comes the next shooting. And the next one.

Many Republican elected officials offer little more than “thoughts and prayers” to the victims and families. After 19 children and two adults were slaughtered by an 18-year-old gunman at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, in May, U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R., Ga.) issued this tweet: “We don’t need more gun control, we need to return to God.”

Such inane sentiments contribute zilch to solving the problem.

This month marked the 10th anniversary of the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut. A 20-year-old gunman massacred 26 people, including 20 children who were 6 and 7 years old.

That was the moment many thought elected officials would finally come together and pass substantive gun safety measures to address America’s gun problem. But just months after the Sandy Hook shootings, a bipartisan bill to expand background checks sponsored by U.S. Sens. Pat Toomey (R., Pa.) and Joe Manchin (D., W.Va.) was defeated by a Republican-led filibuster.

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Other efforts to pass major gun safety proposals — such as a ban on automatic assault rifles, universal background checks, required permits for the purchase or possession of a gun, and raising the age limit to purchase a gun — have been blocked as well, even though polls show the majority of Americans support such measures.

In June, Congress passed the first major gun safety legislation in 30 years. The bill increases incentives for states to pass red flag laws, expands an existing law to prevent people convicted of domestic abuse from owning a gun, and expands background checks on gun buyers under age 21.

Those are all worthy steps, but more must be done to limit the easy access to guns. It is worth remembering that school shootings — and the broader gun epidemic — are not a red or blue state problem. They are an American tragedy.

Other countries have responded quickly to mass shootings by implementing real gun safety measures.

In marking the anniversary of Sandy Hook, President Joe Biden rightly said we should have “societal guilt” for taking so long to confront the nation’s gun problem. Biden reiterated his call to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines that have no purpose other than to kill a lot of people, very quickly.

The school shootings that have come before and after Sandy Hook should have been enough to move lawmakers to pass substantive gun safety measures. The thought of a New Jersey school district resorting to bullet-resistant shields underscores the collective failure to keep children safe.